Silent body Loud soul
by tkitty23
Summary: Just a mute, abused and bullied girl trying to making it though her life. With the help of family and eventually friends, she is able to keep a smile on her face and keep moving forward. (Decided, LucyxNatsuxGray pairing) Rating M just to be safe. (mentions of abuse, and bullying. adult content) OOC
1. Chapter 1

_**So, I wanted to try this out.**_

 _ **Completely different from the two stories I have so far, its modern time settings with some OOC.**_

 _ **I also want to point out that this will mainly be Lucy's POV, but I'll have some others here and there or and over all view type thing.**_

 _ **Could be depressing at times, mentions of abuse, and bulling, not sure if I want to do perverted scenes yet buuuuut it's always safe to mention.**_

 _ **Once again I don't own Fairy Tail T_T it's still owned by Hiro Mashima**_

 _ **I'm hoping that if we write enough NaLu, that the Mashima gods will have mercy and grant us all SOMETHING between those two…**_

 _ **Without further ado I present:**_

' _ **Silent body Loud soul'**_

* * *

 _Good for Nothing…Rat…Mother Killer…Pathetic…Bitch…Nerd…Loser…Outcast…Slut…Whore…_

 _These are the daily words thrown in my general direction, be it from my father or the students at my school they are never ending._

 _Bruises…Broken bones…Cuts…Scratches…Black Eyes…Belt Marks…Pain…_

 _These are also daily…_

 _Though all of this didn't always happen, there was a point when my life was full of happiness and smiles…The time when my dearest mama was still alive, but fate has a way of intervening and she was taken from me._

* * *

 _I was only five when the accident happened I remember though, I remember like it was yesterday…mama was on her way home from work, it was late. The police said she was driving through an intersection, she had the green light when the side of her car was hit full on by a speeding car. We later found out that the guy driving the car that hit mama was drunk….neither him nor my mama survived._

 _Father was devastated and cried for days after we found out, at her funeral though was when I first noticed the darkness in his eyes but they were only ever directed at me._

 _He took up drinking a couple months after that, why, I still have no idea. One would figure that a loved one being killed by a drunk would keep you away but I guess not._

 _It was a year after mama's death, father was heavily drinking now, and it was also the year when he first started hitting me. I was so shocked and scared when the first of many smacks graced my six year old face, I just cried and cried, screaming and begging for him to stop. But he never did, he only hit harder, yelling at me to 'Shut up' and saying things like 'this is all your fault, she would still be here if it wasn't for you'._

 _I guess when I was born my parents struggled with bills and money, so mama ended up having to find a job too just for us to get by, he blames me because if I was never born she wouldn't of had to get a job and she wouldn't of died._

 _It didn't help at school either…kids are cruel…I found that out the hard way. The first day I came to school covered in bruises was when I started getting bullied. Apparently they thought it was a welcome sign to hurt me since I was already being hurt. Why not add more…_

 _It only took me two weeks of daily beatings before I was smart enough to stop making noise all together when he hit me. Sure it still hurt but I found that if I stayed quiet, didn't cry, didn't beg, and didn't scream for help, that the beatings wouldn't last as long. It surprised me when it worked at school too, guess they get bored after they don't receive the satisfying sounds of my anguish at their actions._

* * *

 _I was seven when I stopped talking all together, I became mute to the world but it was ok because the beatings wouldn't last as long and I managed to survive._

 _Mama always told me when I was little, that there is always beauty and happiness in the world we just have to either wait for it or find it for ourselves._

 _She use to take pictures and play guitar as a hobby, it was her way of seeing beauty and having happiness, so at the age of nine when my father was away at the bar drinking his life away, I snuck into mama's old study and started practicing playing on her guitar. I also managed to find her old camera and photo albums, she had DOZENS of beautiful pictures and her own dark room that she used to develop everything she took._

 _They were all simple really, views of old bridges, of trees, flowers, streams, old doors, keys, anything you could think of, my mama took a picture of it all ranging from black and white to full blown color._

 _There was always one that stood out to me the most, it was a picture of a very old and falling apart door but the way mama captured it somehow gave it new life. It was simply beautiful, and now I could finally understand what she meant by there is always beauty and happiness, she went out into the world and found it for herself and captured it._

 _I always thought that she took these pictures for me to find, so she could show me a way into her world when I was older. I decided then and there that I was going to follow in my mama's footsteps and capture the world for myself._

* * *

 _It was really nice, for a full two years I felt happier. Yea, I was still getting beat at home and bullied at school but after my father left me home alone to do whatever he does, I had an escape from this thing I call my life._

 _I found out that I was a natural when it came to playing, her guitar was like an extension to my own arm, knowing and familiar, it felt like home. I would sit in her study and play for hours after school, making sure to give myself enough time to leave and make it back to my own room before father got home and caught me. I started taking pictures too, and though it took me quite a while to get the formulas right to develop my film, I eventually figured everything out and started making my own album._

 _I wasn't so lucky tonight though when he ended up coming home early….the look on his face when he seen me sitting on the floor in mama's study with her guitar in my hands, it was like I was looking at the face of a demon…I was truly scared for my life._

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING IN HERE RAT! YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO PUT YOUR DISCUSTING WIFE KILLING HANDS ON ANYTHING OF HERS!" He yelled at me, then the beatings started.

 _He kicked me out after he was finished, I limped out of the house as fast as I could go, one of my eyes was swollen shut, my lip was busted open, I knew I had as least three cracked ribs, I heard them when he gave me a hard kick. He ended up pushing me down the stairs and it was on the way down that I hurt my leg somehow. I knew I had split my head open when I landed to because I could feel blood dripping down the back of my neck, staining my blonde hair red and ruining mama's hoodie that I was wearing._

 _This was by far the worst beating out of them all, and once out in the safety of the streets was when I finally let my silent tears fall, for the first time since I was six, I silently cried._

 _I was broken at the moment, body and soul because not only was I never going to get to play my mama's guitar again but now my father hated me even more. The only hope I had for happiness again was mama's camera, which I had the hind sight to hide in my room, it was just a matter of making sure he never found it._

 _I was walking for quite a while, well I shouldn't really say walking and more I was dragging my broken body along, I had no idea where I was or even how late it might have been, I just kept moving forwards. It didn't help my predicament at all with my head throbbing and the dizzy spells I kept having to fight off, seriously becoming annoying, I was pretty sure I had a concussion._

 _It was starting to get harder to see, objects in front of me were beginning to blur, my legs finally gave out though and I fell to my knees. That hurt but I was in too much pain from everything else to even register what damage I may or may not have done._

 _I felt myself starting to fall forwards and I had flashes of my life flowing before my eyes and I had to wonder, is this really how I'm going to die? Am I really going to die on a sidewalk because my father beat me to death? I guess it won't be too bad, I'll be with mama again, even if I only lived a short eleven years._

 _As soon as I hit the pavement though I think I heard people shouting, huh…maybe I won't die after all, if only I could call out for help… but what if they only want to hurt me too? No…I can't shout out for help, because I can't trust anyone anymore, it only gets me hurt more._

 _I heard running now and it was getting closer, I started to panic…_

"HEY! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"

 _Someone was shouting at me now, at least I think they are. I heard a gasp,_

"Oh my god, she's only a baby…who the hell did this to her?"

 _Hey…I'm not a baby, I'm eleven damn it. I was able to tell now that at least one of the voices belonged to a woman, but my vision was too blurry at this point and it was starting to go black._

"Quick, pick her up. Let's take her to the house and call Porly." I heard the female voice say, right before I blacked out.

* * *

 _I have no idea when I started to gain consciousness but I heard voices again._

"How bad is she doc?" I heard the voice of a guy ask.

"The girl is lucky to be alive, if you hadn't called me over when you did she would have died where you found her. She has a sprained ankle, bruising along both of her shins and thighs, bruising that looks to be in the shape of a foot along her chest where I found four cracked ribs, she has what looks like hand mark bruising her upper arms, her lip split open, I had to stitch it back together, she won't be able to see out of her left eye from it being so swollen, and she had to have staples in the back of her head from a deep gash. She lost a lot of blood from that head wound." Another woman said, she sounded older than the first voice I heard.

"Oh my god…who could of done something like this to her?" I heard the first female voice almost whisper out.

"I do not know but that isn't even the worst of it…while I was examining her damages…" The older voice paused.

 _I'm pretty sure I know what she's going to say though…_

"What doc?! What could be worse then what we are looking at right now?!" The guy voice said, he sounded…angry?

 _I don't understand why though._

"Examining her farther…she has old wounds…old broken bones…scars…all are years old and she can't be more than ten…" The older lady sounded sad.

 _I already knew what she was going to say. She found out I've been abused for a while and not just for today. I heard the sound of a door slamming shut and then silence for a while._

"I think it would be in the child's best interest of she didn't return to where ever she came from…whatever low life human did this to her…I don't think plans on stopping anytime soon." The older voice said.

 _She's right but where am I going to go? I have no one else besides father…_

"I think your right Porly, we're just going to have to wait until she wakes up to talk to her…" The first voice said.

 _My body hurts though and I'm too tired to listen anymore, and I slowly let myself drift off to sleep._

* * *

 _I woke up again, I think it was later though I'm not sure just yet. I slowly opened my good eye to try and figure out where I am. Taking a quick look around at what I could see, it seems I'm in a bedroom. The walls were a really pretty shade of dark blue, blue just so happens to be my favorite color. All the furniture was a dark wood and went well with the walls, feels really homely here._

 _I slowly attempted to sit up and it proved to be very difficult, seems that cracked ribs made it harder. I was finally able to get myself to a sitting position but I was panting now, geez that took a lot of work. I slowly twist my body to the edge of the bed, I already know my ankle is going to hurt, its throbbing right now and I haven't even put weight on it yet. Taking a few deep breaths I slowly stand up, my entire body SCREAMED at me, almost like it was pleading for me to lay back down but I can't. I have to get out of here, I have no idea where I am or who those people were that were talking, though I am very grateful for them saving my life, I can't stay here._

 _I did notice finally that whoever these people are washed my blood stained hoodie, very grateful for that because I love that stupid thing it's the only one I have and I found it in mama's closet, though…I don't think I'm going to be able to wear both of my sneakers, seeing as one of my ankles is the size of an elephants…I inwardly sighed and started painfully limping to the door, I put my ear against it listening for a few seconds and not hearing a sound, so I slowly turn the door knob hoping to the gods that it doesn't squeak when I open it._

 _Met with silence, I was internally thanking the door gods, I took a quick peek out into what looked to be a hallway, and I turned my good eye in both directions to make sure I was alone before I started limping away from the room I was in._

 _I mentally cursed when I was met with a set of stairs, damn my luck…but looking to the end of stair hell I seen a door. It looked to be a door to freedom. So grabbing the railing and gritting my teeth I managed to silently hop down being very careful of my ankle and ribs. When I was only two steps away from stair hell I froze and my heart dropped into my stomach, I heard voices… and they were close, but not very close…_

"What are we going to do? We can't let her leave and go back to where ever she came from but we can't exactly force her to stay either…"

"I don't know Mira…I really don't know…"

"Maybe we could call Gray's family, they're rich, or even Natsu's family. Surly one of them could take her in…both those boys should be around her age too."

"You know both families travel a lot because of their companies, they aren't even supposed to be back home for a few more years. Maybe we could just keep her here…with us…I mean we already have a spare room that she could take…it's already decorated and everything…"

"I don't know Elf, I mean that was Lisanna's room…befo-"

"I know big sis but maybe this could be our way to make up for not being able to cure her…"

"Elfman…you know her passing wasn't our fault. She was sick, there was nothing more the doctors could do for her. Even Porly couldn't help her and you know how amazing she is with healing."

"I know…it doesn't make me feel any less guilty, I'm the man of the house…I should of protected her. Just like I feel like I should protect that little girl upstairs…"

 _I really feel like I shouldn't be hearing this conversation…I have to get out of here._

 _Refocusing myself again I very veerry slowly make it down the last two steps and peek around the wall, I was met with a living room, I didn't see anyone though. I think it's safe to assume that they have a kitchen so maybe they are in there, turning back towards the door and as quietly as I could I limped to it. Undoing the dead bolt, I slowly open the door…so far so good…it was evening outside, I seen the sun starting to go down behind the houses in front of me. Nice neighborhood._

 _Guess I was out at least a day, hopefully not more, when I make it fully outside I twisted the door knob so I could close the door without it clicking. Sweet success! Turning back around though…I mentally cursed…again…I was met with three stupid stairs taking me away from the front door. Hobbling down them all I slowly but as quickly as I could left the strange house and started my trek down the side walk. I still have no idea where I am though, I have no idea which way is home, so I just limped away._

* * *

Back at the house though, the two conversationalists were about to get a very big surprise.

"MIRA! COME QUICK! SHE'S GONE!" A booming loud voice rang throughout the house hold.

"WHAT?!" The one called Mira shouted back running up the stairs.

"I just peeked my head in to check on her and she's gone…"

"How? How did she get out without us knowing? How could she even stand let alone move with those injuries?" Mira was frantically pacing around the room, "Come on Elfman, she couldn't have gotten far. We have to find her and at least talk to her."

"Right, let's go." Elfman agreed as the two ran out of the house

"Ok Elf you go right, I'll go left. Keep your cell handy, if you find her call me. I'll do the same."

"Ok big sis."

The two parted ways running their directions on the sidewalk, desperate to find the battered girl.

 _I think I see a shopping center up ahead…maybe I could find a map there and figure out where I ended up at…hopefully I'm not too far from home. Maybe father has cooled off enough to at least let me back in the house…_

 _I was getting ready to cross the street to the shopping center when a soft voice stopped me dead in my tracks…_

"There you are, we were worried about you you know. I have to admit, I didn't think you would make it this far though."

 _I know this voice…it's that first voice I heard before I blacked out on the side walk, I also heard it in the house talking to that guy…what did he say her name was again?_

 _I slowly turned around, my heart was going a mile a minute, what does she want with me?_

 _I wasn't really sure what I was expecting her to look like but it damn sure wasn't this beautiful lady in front of me._

 _She has long white hair with her bangs held up with a hair tie, she has big beautiful blue eyes, and her smile…it reminds me so much of mama's…she was wearing a pretty red dress and short heels._

"Hello, my name is Mirajane. You can call me Mira though."

 _MIRA! That's right…her name is Mira…and the guy, if I remember right was Elfman? Strange name…_

"Won't you please come back to our home with me? You really shouldn't be up and walking just yet and my brother and I just wanted to talk, if that's ok with you." She gave me a gentle smile.

 _Her smile…makes me feel warm again…she's so much like mama…she looks like she couldn't harm a fly…I'm still warry of her though…I can't trust her…even if she helped me…but I could as least sit and hear them out I guess…_

 _Throwing her a worried glance before I slowly nod my head yes and if it was even possible her smile grew even larger._

"Wonderful, I'll call my brother to come pick us up. It shouldn't take him very long at all." She beamed while she pulled out her cell.

 _She was right, it only took him fifteen minutes before he pulled up to us in a blue Ram 1500…these guys must love blue almost as much as me. I slowly hop up in the back while Mira got in the passenger seat in front of me. When we started moving I took time to inspect the guy driving. Short, spiky, snow white hair just like Mira's and he looked built from what I could see from my spot in the back seat. I could also make out a scar that ran from his right eye, I wonder how he got it?_

 _We pulled back up to the house that I escaped from, Mira and her brother both got out before I did. I was really surprised when her brother came around the truck and helped me out, it was then that I could really get a good look at him. He was HUGE compared to my tiny body and I'm really short, I actually had to tilt my head all the way back to look up at him. He had to be at least 6'7"._

"Hi little one, I'm Elfman." He smiled at me and just like his sister, I felt at home.

 _It didn't even register that he kind of insulted me, what I did register was that he picked me up and carried me inside. I panicked in my mind, I don't want to get hurt, my body can't handle it right now…I need time to heal first…the panic died almost as quickly as it came though when all he did was carry me inside and set me down gently on one of the sofas in their living room…_

 _Mira and Elfman sat together directly across from me and both just stared at me for a second before Mira finally decided to ask me a question…_

"You know both of our names now, may we know yours?"

 _Well…I'm not sure how I'm supposed to let them know what my name is let alone if I even want them to know…_

"It's ok if you don't want to tell us, we just really wanted to know." Elfman said

 _I darted my eye back and forth between the two trying to figure out what to do, I know sign language, the teachers at my school taught me after they figured out I wasn't going to talk anymore but would they even know what I'm saying? Finally coming up with an idea though, I lowered my finger to the coffee table between us and used my pointer finger to spell out my name._

"L-U-C-Y…Your name is Lucy?" Mira said watching my finger before looking back up at my face and I nodded

"That's a lovely name Lucy, it's finally nice to meet you." She smiled at me again, that same warmth bringing smile…

"Lucy, is it ok if we ask you some questions?" Mira said, she sounded hesitant though.

 _I gulped, I know what they want to ask. But I can't tell them, father said he would hurt me more if I ever told anyone and after his last beating…I believe him. But these two make me feel so safe, I don't know why either._

 _Gulping one more time, I very slowly nod._

"Ok, you don't have to answer if you don't want to. We won't force you." She said

I nodded again.

"I suppose the first question I would like to ask is why won't you speak to us?"

 _I tilted my head to the side, and furrowed my brows some...ok, now I'm confused. I would have figured she would have asked the most obvious question,_ " _What happened to you?"_

 _Deciding to try my luck and signed, 'mute'._

"You're mute?" she asked and my eye went wide _'You can read sign language?'_ I signed to her.

"Yes we can, our little sister was deaf so we can read it fluently." She giggled at my shocked face.

"Well at least now we can talk with you." Elfman said smiling brightly at me, and I nodded again.

"Ok Lucy, I'm sure you know this is coming so I will get it out of the way now…What happened to you?"

 _There it is, the dreaded question which I can't answer but for some reason I really don't want to disappoint these two. I don't know how to explain it but I feel like I could be family here, like I could belong here, like I could feel safe here. I guess I must of been silent for a while because Mira sighed a little._

"Lucy, we just want you to be safe. I know you don't know us but we would like to get to know you and we would like you to get to know us and open up to us. You do not have to answer, by any means at all, if it is too hard on you. But just please know we are right here in front of you willing to listen to you." Mira said with a kind and gentle voice…

 _I couldn't even stop my body from starting to shake, and my lip shot out and quivered as tears burned my eyes. How can they bring so much emotion out of me barely doing anything?_

 _That's a lie, they've done a lot for me already, a lot more than I've gotten in years…_

 _That's when I broke down, I let the tears that had been building over the years fall freely and I caved as I started signing to them. Telling them everything that has happened in my life, from five years old to now._

* * *

 _ **~AN~**_

 _ **SO!**_

 _ **This is what I have so far.**_

 _ **Let me know if you would like to see anymore.**_

 _ **UNTIL NEXT TIME!**_

 _ **Much love from a tkitty! XD**_


	2. Chapter 2

_When I finally finished signing to them my hands truly hurt._

 _It was nice to let other people into this thing I possibly call my life but it was their reactions to my story really caught me off guard._

 _I found myself suddenly squished between the bodies of my two new friends and they were both crying…_

 _My heart shattered, why are they crying? Why are they crying for me of all people? I don't deserve this kind of treatment…father tells me all the time that I deserve nothing from this world…and I thought him right but…why…why does it hurt to see tears fall from their eyes? Why does my chest ache to make those tears shed for me disappear? I don't understand…_

 _I didn't move at first, I was paralyzed, but it wasn't fear that had me in such a frozen state though, instead it was a warm comforting feeling._

 _Something that I haven't felt in so long…kindness…security…family…and dare I say it but_ _ **love**_ _as well._

 _It was almost too much to bare, so many emotions flowing through me all at once but they weren't bad like they always are with father, so I did the only thing I could think of to rein back my whirlwind of emotions…I needed to make them feel better…so I hugged them back._

"Oh gods Lucy…we're so SO sorry, all that has happened to you…no child should ever have to go through what you are…especially by their father no less…a father is supposed to shower their children with love and affection, peace and kindness…it's too cruel of the world to not bestow you with the same care." Mira was still crying as she talked to me.

 _When she finally pulled away from my battered and bruised body, I silently winced as my heart shattered even more, someone as beautiful as her should never have tears staining her face._

' _Please don't cry…_ ' I started to sign to her, I reached up and with my tiny hands I brushed away the tears from her flushed cheeks before I signed again, _'I'm not sure why but it hurts my heart to see and hear you cry.'_ She smiled at me and placed a hand on top of mine that was back and busy brushing tears away, halting my movements.

 _That was when Elfman finally moved, he gently grabbed my body and lifted me up so I was now sitting on his lap and he then encircled my tiny body against his with this massive arms into a hug from behind. I didn't panic like I did before but instead reveled in the feeling, pulling my legs up, I was careful of my ankle, so I was in a tight ball and snuggled farther into his warm embrace. I felt safe here in the arms of this massive bear of a man, I felt like nothing could ever touch me…nothing could ever hurt me…as long as I'm surrounded by his warmth_.

"Little one…how is it that you can go through so much…feel so much pain and anguish…but still care enough to put others feelings before yourself? How can you be so kind after all you've been through?" He asked as he rested his chin on top of my head.

 _I already knew the answer though,_

I pulled my hands out enough so they both could see me sign, _'Mama always told me to show kindness to everyone no matter what they may do to you. She always told me that being mean and uncaring gets you nowhere in life and you should always forgive and move forward no matter how many times life may knock you back.'_

When I finished signing I heard them both sigh, "That mother of yours sounds like a fine lady, and we would have loved to have met her in person." Elfman said

I inwardly sighed before signing, _'Mama would have liked you two…I miss her terribly…'_

 _I felt tears pricking my eyes again, and I just cuddled farther into Elfmans' chest as he squeezed me tighter to him. I can clearly smell his strangely calming woodsy, earthy cologne seems to suit him very well, very bear like, maybe even manly too._

"Why don't we get you something quick to eat then get you to bed? I'm sure your starving and you must be exhausted and in pain from everything you've been through over the last day." Mira said.

 _I stiffened and was shocked for a second, they are going to feed me now too?_

 _Elfman must have felt me stiffen because he hugged me tighter before asking,_ "When was the last time you ate little one?"

 _I put my finger to my chin, blinking as I looked up at him and thought hard…let's seeeeee….It's Saturday night, since Mira said over the last day…all this happened some time yesterday…that means Wednesday at school was the last day I ate._

' _I had an apple and some chocolate milk on Wednesday at school, the lunch ladies sneak me food every now and then free of charge since I can't buy my own. They can't do it all the time but I am grateful none the less.' I signed._

 _The look on Mira's face though had me worried_

' _Mira? Is something wrong?' I signed to her_

"You mean to tell me…that the only thing you've had to eat for three days was one apple and a carton of milk?" She asked

 _She sounds mad, I hope I haven't done anything wrong._

 _Worried I upset her I only nodded, sinking myself back into Elfman._

 _She got up after that, she didn't say a word more, and went to what I'm guessing was the direction of the kitchen. Elfman stayed silent too, only keeping his hold around my body._

 _Mira came back about half an hour later with a bowl that looked like watered down ketchup, two sandwiches with I think that's cheese in the middle, a big glass of chocolate milk and what looks like some pills. She set everything down in front of me on the small coffee table between the two sofas._

 _I admit…my mouth is watering right now, it smells amazing._

"Eat, please." She said to me as she sat back down sideways next to Elfman and me on the sofa.

 _Wondering what I'm about to put in my stomach, I signed, 'What is all of this?' as I just stared wide eyed._

 _She and Elfman both laughed at my amazed face before Mira says,_ "It's my homemade tomato soup, two grilled cheese sandwiches and a big glass of chocolate milk to wash it down. The pills are for pain, I know you haven't had any today and you must be sore, they will also help bring the swelling down in your eye and ankle. Now please eat, you will need it to help you heal."

' _I've never had tomato soup, or grilled cheese. They smell amazing, are you sure I can eat all of this? Father says I'm not allowed to eat more than bread and water because of how fat I am and I'm just wasting his money if I were to eat anymore.' I signed still eyeing the food._

 _I felt Elfman's grip become tighter around me and it kind of hurt my ribs but I didn't worry about it, Mira's face though…it looks like I just told her a scary story. She looks like a ghost now, I wonder why…_

"Dear gods child please eat. You're allowed, whatever you want, just please eat."

 _She sounded like she was begging me, but I don't think anything more of it as I turn my attention back to the food. Elfman released me from his grip so I could move closer to the table while still sitting on his lap and I dug right in._

 _Gods it's heavenly, the soup just slides down my throat coating it in a warm tomato-e flavor. The grilled cheese is amazing too, I wonder what they would taste like mixed together…DEAR GODS….I think my tastes buds just exploded with cheese-e ketchup-e goodness._

 _I finish everything Mira gave me in no time flat and take the pills as I chug down the chocolate milk even that is so rich and amazing. How was she able to do that? She's like a cooking genius, I wonder if she could teach me…_

"Do you want anymore?" She asks with that bright smile again

 _There is no way I can eat anymore, I haven't felt this full in years._

 _This is nice…I actually feel really sleepy now._

 _I lay my head back against Elfmans chest and shake my head 'no' as I start to feel my eyes grow heavy._

"Come on little one, it's already midnight so you're staying here tonight. I'll take you up to your room so you can get a good night's sleep." Elfman said as he lifted me up princess style _,_ I only nodded as I finished closing my good eye and felt sleep come to me already.

 _ **~NORMAL POV~**_

Elfman made his was upstairs while carefully carrying the small already asleep girl in his massive arms, Mira right behind him.

Opening the door to the room she was in before she left the house, he laid her down on the bed covering her up with the covers and rose back up. Both siblings just stood and watched the girl sleep peacefully for a minute before turning to walk out of the room, carefully closing the door behind them.

They stayed in the hallway, both silent for a while…before Mira finally spoke up,

"Gods Elfman what are we going to do? This is worse than we thought, her own father is abusing her and has been for YEARS." Mira said in a panicked voice

"I don't know Mira but that… _THING_ who's supposed to be little one's father is no man…who hit's a child and has no remorse afterwards?" Elfman all but growled out.

"Did you see the look on her face when I brought her food?" Mira asked.

"Yes I did, I've never seen a face light up, but not smile at the same time just because of a simple snack like tomato soup and grilled cheese." He said, his massive fists clenching at this sides.

"I would put money she would of lit up just as bright if I only brought her bread and water…it only makes me wonder more how much she's actually able to eat and when she's able to eat. The poor thing is nothing but skin and bones, she's so malnourished." Mira slightly whispered out, her heart ached for the small girl in the room they were next too.

"As horrible as that sounds Mira you're probably right…we can't let her go, we can't let her go back to that…that… _MONSTER_ …" He scowled out

Mira smiled at her brother, he's always had a soft spot for children, "You love her already don't you Elf?"

"Yea….I do, that little one has stolen my heart already and we've only really known her for a full day." He sighed out, a small smile decorating his lips.

"We should get some sleep too Elf, we can figure everything out tomorrow. I'll call gramps in the morning and let him know we're both not going to be at FC tomorrow night. I'll make her a big breakfast too and make sure she's good and fed." Mira exclaimed

"Sounds good big sis'. Let's just keep little one to ourselves for now until we can figure things out." Elfman said as he kissed his sister on her cheek before walking to his room to sleep.

Mira opened the door to Lucy's room once Elfman closed his door, peeking in at the still sleeping girl she smiled softly, "I hope we can convince you to run away with us Lucy…" she whispered out before closing the door and turning in for the night.

 _ **~LUCY~**_

 _I woke up the next morning and honestly I felt great, I do have a headache but at least I could see out of both of my eyes again as I looked around at the still amazingly blue room. I was slow sitting up since my ribs were still aching but I'm not going to complain, could be worse._

 _Pulling the covers off I noticed I was still fully dressed, I shrugged not thinking much of it, it's not the first time I've woken up like this. Carefully twisting my body around I put my bare feet on the carpet waiting for a minute to make sure that nothing started hurting out of nowhere._

 _Satisfied I slowly stood up, my ankle still isn't very happy but at least it's not as swollen as it was yesterday. I started to hobble my way to the door when I caught scent of an unbelievably amazing smell, my mouth instantly started watering and I opened the door hoping to find out where that wonderful smell was coming from._

 _Walking out in the hall way I didn't see Mira or Elfman but I hear noises coming from downstairs. I cursed inwardly at the stairs of hell once again as I started making my way down, it wasn't as bad as yesterday but it still hurt. Doing a happy dance inside my head I finally make it off the last step, taking a deep breath in and out I hobble some more following my nose to where the smells were coming from._

 _I figured out that they did indeed have a kitchen and let me tell you…wow…it was HUGE!_

 _You could easily fit 20 people and still have room to move around, all the appliances were black and the cabinets were a beautiful dark cherry wood. Black marble covered the counters and black and white tile covered the floors. I'm guessing Mira's style, some strange reason dark seemed to fit her._

 _I just stood in the doorway, gapping at the massive room before I heard voices, that snapped me out of my daze and I walked away from kitchen heaven and followed the sounds. I was limping down a smaller hallway before it suddenly open up into a beautiful dining room. The table again was big enough that it could fit a small army of people, why do they need so much space? Do they have a lot of people over all the time? I was still standing in the doorway pondering the amount of people Mira and Elfman could possibly have over when a voice broke my train of thought,_

"Good morning little one, I hope you slept well."

 _It was Elfman, he was sitting at one of the ends of the table with a massive amount of food in front of him, and Mira was sitting next to him with her own plate of food. I nodded my head before limping slowly to sit on the other side of him._

"Lucy honey are you hungry?" Mira asked smiling at me

 _I nodded my head again eyeing all the food she had laid out on the table, there was pancakes, french toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, toast and jelly, orange juice and milk. I've seen all these before, and I swear if my mouth wasn't closed right now I would be drooling all over the table._

 _I heard Mira and Elfman both laugh at me,_

' _What?' I signed tearing my eyes away from the food to look at their laughing faces._

"Little one you've got a little…uh…" Elfman started but then he just ran his thumb across the corner of his mouth a couple times.

 _I tilted my head a little clearly confused, was there something on my mouth? I used the back of my hand and ran it across my lips and instantly went wide eyed, ok so maaaaaaaybe my mouth wasn't as closed as I thought it was and maaaaaaaybe I was ferociously wiping the line of drool off my chin at the moment. I blushed massively red before signing 'sorry'. They both laughed at me again…_

"Grab whatever you want, you're welcome to anything you see in this house." Mira smiled at me

 _I looked at her clearly shocked, 'Really?' I signed_

"Really." They both said in unison

 _Then I did something that I thought I would never do again…I smiled. Then I quickly stood up and limped to the two and wrapped my arms around them both, tears were slowly falling down my cheeks but my smile never fell. I think I shocked the two and poor Mira looked like she was going to burst into tears at any second, so I let go and made my way back to the chair I was sitting in._

' _Thank you' was all I signed before I started piling food on my plate._

 _We sat at the dining table and talked and talked…well they talked, I signed._

 _I found out Mira was nineteen and Elfman was eighteen and they both are co-owners of a really famous bar/club thing called Fairies Corner or FC for short, I guess they are really super rich too and it explains why they have such a nice house and big things. I also found out that the other owners of the bar/club thing were an old man named Makarov and his grandson Laxus who just so happens to be dating Mira. I then found out that Makarov was the sole owner, principle and dean of the Fairy Tail Academy and University or FTAU for short._

 _Is everyone she's telling me about loaded beyond all belief?_

 _Anyways…_

 _I've heard so many stories about that school, apparently you can go there from kindergarten all the way through to college and apparently each section has their own building. So like Elementary has their own building, Middle school has their own…you get my drift, it's just plain huge. You never have to leave as long as you have the money to pay for it._

 _I would love to go there…but father would never allow it, too expensive for a rat I suppose._

 _Annnnyways, I found out some stuff about their friends and family too._

 _Apparently there is this girl named Erza, she's the same age as Mira, and she's working on opening up a sweets shop right across from FC (yup everyone is rich). I guess she's also engaged to a guy named Jellal who has a tattoo on his face! I know! Crazy right?_

 _They also told me about his girl named Cana, she runs the bar at FC but I guess she has a drinking problem or something because they say she always has a bottle of alcohol attached to her lips. She told me about these two old guys, named Macao and Wakaba, that hang out at the bar practically every day, like they might as well live there, she said they have A LOT of regulars who hang out and party there._

 _She said a good way to describe the place is like a home away from home because they treat everyone like family there. I guess they even went as far as anyone who is considered family are declared "members" of sorts to this bar/club thing and everyone gets these really cool matching tattoos. Elfman had the symbol on the side of his neck (ouch) and Mira had one on her thigh, it looked like a fairy of sorts._

 _I want one…_

 _Then they told me about these two boys who are one year older than me, one goes by the name Natsu Dragneel and the other was Gray Fullbuster, I guess their families are super super rich._

 _Natsu's family are the owners of 'Fire Dragons Inc.' and they run five star hotels all over the world. From what Mira told me they have hotels going from California all the way around the world to Japan and apparently Natsu is the heir to the company. I guess their headquarters is here in Magnolia, Colorado._

… _I need to get out more…_

 _Gray's family on the other hand are the owners of 'Ice Make Inc.' and they run five star ski resorts all over the world. Anywhere its cold or snows there is a resort there and Gray is the sole heir for that family. I guess sometimes you can find overlapping of hotels and resorts from both families in one territory but they purposefully do it that way Mira was explaining to me._

… _I really need to get out more…_

 _I found out the boys' parents: Igneel and Grandeeney Dragneel, and Silver and Ur Fullbuster, are all childhood best friends and helped each other build their companies from the ground up. That's why they work so well together, makes sense I suppose, both families already know what the other is thinking._

 _Getting off track here, from what Mira and Elfman told me both families left with each other to go overseas to help promote more hotels and resorts. They have no idea if they are coming back or not but she told me that those boys still keep in contact with everyone here. That's good._

 _Then they told me about their little sister…that was definitely hard to hear because both of them were so upset and so down when they talked about her. I don't blame them, I'm the same way with mama._

 _They told me that she was born with a large brain tumor, which was actually the cause of her deafness. They said she fought hard to win against the tumor but every time they surgically removed it or did chemo and radiation it just kept coming back and each time it only got worse. She fought for nine years before her body finally gave out and she passed away, which was two years ago._

 _The world really is a cruel place…but they seem to be doing better now and from the sounds of it, they have lots of friends and family too._

 _I'm happy for them._

 _By the time we finished talking it was around five in the evening, we literally talked the day away and it was nice._

 _It really was..._

 _But it's time for me to leave and go back home._

' _Guys…thank you so much for taking me in and treating my wounds, not only that but feeding me and listening to my story and sharing so much about yourselves. I've never had friends since mama died and I greatly appreciate it…but it's time for me to leave.' I finished signing and both of their faces instantly dropped._

"Lucy…I-we…we don't want you to go. We want you to stay here with us, we can give you a home, family, friends, clothes, food, anything and everything you could ever wish for or ever want we can provide for you. That room upstairs that you've stayed in…it's yours. Please don't go, please don't leave. We want you to stay with us, become our family, and be our little sister. Please Lucy." Mira was begging and crying.

"Please little one, stay with us. We can't tolerate to see you hurting or in pain anymore, we can protect you, I-as the man of this house can protect you and be your big brother, I want to be your family, we want to be your family. Please stay…" Elfman was crying now too

 _I could feel my heart shatter all over again, they want me to stay? They want me to become there family? Their little sister? But…_

"Please Lucy…I know we haven't know each other for very long but…We already love you, we already consider you our little sister. Please don't leave us."

 _Mira had walked around the table to where I was sitting and kneeled down taking my hand in hers, begging me not to leave._

 _But I can't…_

 _I can't stay…_

' _I'm sorry…really I am, I've come to care for you both as well and I would love to be able to stay but…I have to go home. I have to go back to father, I know he hates me and will never feel for me what you two feel…but he is still my father and he is my only connection I have left to mama, that house is my only way to stay close to mama. Please forgive me.' I signed silent tears were streaming down my face now._

They both dropped their heads sighing, "We were never mad at you little one, so there is nothing to forgive and we understand. Who would have thought that someone your age could be so smart? Please at least let me drive you to your home." Elfman said with a clear heavy heart.

 _I only shook my head once before signing to them, 'As much as i would like that, if father saw then he would know i talked to someone.'_

 _I heard them both sadly sigh before nodding their heads, w_ _e all stood up and slowly made our way to the front door, I stepped outside and paused for a second._

 _I turned around slowly so I could look at my two friends standing in the door way to their home,_

' _Could I-'_

 _I stopped myself, no way I could ask them that after all they've done for me._

 _Shaking my head I turned back around to walk away, before I made it to the steps though a massive hand dropped down on my shoulder._

"What little one, what is it you were going to ask? Please you can tell us anything." Elfman asked.

 _I turned back around to see both of their smiling faces and I felt tears build up in my eyes again, lowering my head i signed, 'Could I maybe, come back? To spend time with you again?'_

 _I kept my head down, I knew I was asking a lot after all they have done for me but I really felt at home here and I truly did want to come back._

 _I felt smaller arms wrap around my shoulders hugging me for a second before pulling away, Mira was looking down at me with her tear stained face. She handed me a piece of paper that had some writing on it._

"This is mine and Elfmans cell phone numbers, our address is also on there. You come back whenever you want to or text whenever you want to. We will always be here for you whenever you need us." She smiled again.

 _I couldn't take it anymore and I crashed myself into her hugging her tightly feeling the tears that built up run down my cheeks. I then felt a hand on top of my head too and I looked up to see Elfman smiling down at me._

 _I pulled away wiping my eyes with my hoodie sleeve before looking up at both of them and I smiled, very brightly._

' _Thank you, so much, big brother and big sister.' I signed_

 _Then I turned and walked away, to head back into my personal hell but I felt free, I felt good. For the first time since mama, I felt loved._

* * *

 _ **~AN~**_

 _ **Ok so I mainly wanted this to be a chapter of explanations of sorts about everything and everyone.**_

 _ **I also really wanted Lucy, Mira and Elfman's bond to take hold here.**_

 _ **Let me know how I did**_

 _ **UNTIL NEXT TIME!**_

 _ **Much love from a tkitty! XD**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**I'M STILL ALIVE I SWEAR!**_

 _ **I've been busy with lifes and writers blocks and you name its T_T**_

 _ **ANNNNNYWAYS!**_

 _ **CHAPTER 3 Y'ALL!**_

* * *

 _I had decided to walk in the opposite direction that I went when I left big brother and sister's house and much to my surprise father's house was only an hour walk away._

 _Though it also made me realize that I was out walking around battered and bleeding for over an hour that night father went over board and if fate didn't lead Mira and Elfman in my path…I would of died._

 _It's strange really, I've always believed that things happen for a reason though what those reasons are were beyond me until I met those two. It's like I was meant to meet them and I was meant to tell them my story and I know that they will be the ones to help my heart start to heal._

 _I was lucky, father wasn't home when I walked inside so I just went straight to my room…it wasn't as welcoming as brother and sister's house…far from it._

 _Plain, boring, eggshell white painted the walls of my room, though every now and then you might see a dab of red smeared from my blood along the many holes that line all four of my walls. Father long took away sentimental things from me, only leaving me with a little dresser for my small amount of clothes, and an old mattress with very flimsy blankets that do nothing to bring me warmth. The hard wood floors hold no heat either, so staying warm during winter is very difficult and I often find myself sleeping fully clothed._

 _I have managed to find a sneaky hiding spot for my more important things that I've kept hidden from him or was able to sneak out of mama's office. If I slide my mattress down just a bit I was able to find a loose board and if I moved it out of the way there is a small hole in the floor. Inside the hole I have some of my most prized positions in there, mama's camera is one of them and I refuse to let him take this away from me, so I keep it hidden. I also have a small jewelry box as well and inside it I have a silver locket that mama gave me when i was young that has a picture of me and her inside. I also managed to get ahold of her wedding ring too, don't ask me how because even to this day I'm not sure how I managed to sneak it off father._

 _If only I could find a hiding spot for mama's guitar and photo albums too…_

 _I laid myself carefully down on my uncomfortable mattress and eyed the ceiling…I wonder what Mira and Elfman are doing right now…the more I thought about the stupid excuse I gave them about having to leave, the more I was starting to wonder what the actual truth was to come back to this hell…_

 _I was happy there_

 _I was welcome there_

 _I was loved there_

 _So why did I leave?_

 _Why did I come back to the one place that hasn't felt like a home since mama died?_

 _Why did I come back to father when he has made it clear multiple times that he doesn't want me and he hates me with every fiber in his existence…?_

 _Why couldn't I just stay…with big brother….with big sister…and be happy?_

 _I don't understand…_

 _Why would I come back here?_

 _I felt tears start to run down my face and I just turned on my side curling into a tight ball, willing myself to not think about it anymore and just sleep._

 _Because I'll have to go back to my second hell tomorrow…school…_

* * *

 _I inwardly sighed as I walked down the sidewalk in the direction of my school, Sabertooth Academy._

 _I hate it there…_

 _I really do…_

 _But I have to keep going_

 _If I want any chance at making my dreams come true, I have to keep going and get the best scores I can. That way I can be eligible for a scholarship to a college of my choice and not have worry about paying because we all know father isn't going to pay for me to further my education…_

 _I can see the school now and my sense of dread only increases the closer I get. I pull the hood of my sweater up with the naive thought that it could help me somehow blend in with the shadows as I start to walk past some students just standing around outside._

 _I can feel their eyes on me and I try my hardest to not let it get to me as I just quicken my pace to get inside the school as fast as I can._

 _It was all for not though…_

"Well look what we have here boys, our pathetic little nerd is back."

 _Damn…I was caught, I turned around and came face to face with some of the most popular kids in this school, Minerva, Sting, Rogue, Rufus and Orga._

 _Minerva and her little posse have been my bullies since day one, I'm still not sure why either. I mean I haven't done anything to them to warrant such treatment but I guess getting beat by father and getting good grades is enough for them…_

 _All of a sudden she started laughing and pointing at me_

"HA! Look at her face guys! Looks like daddy went to town on her over the weekend."

 _She was flat out mocking my pain but what could I do?_

 _The only person I have in this gods forsaken school, is the nurse Ms. Yukino. She's tried so many times to defend me, bringing up my bullying to the head master but all that guy cares about is making his school the best in Colorado. As far as he's concerned if I'm too weak to stand up for myself then I deserve to be bullied._

 _So I just put up with it, get patched up by Ms. Yukino then head to my classes. Looks like today isn't going to be any different…_

 _I heard Minerva scoff before she started talking again,_ "I don't know why you even bother living anymore, I mean it's not like anyone actually cares for a weak and pathetic little bitch like you anyways."

 _I know I shouldn't take her words to heart but it's hard not too…When you've been hearing the same thing over and over and over again for years, you start to believe the things people say about you._

 _I just lowered my head, I've learned years ago as long as I don't react, don't make a sound, don't even move a muscle, they will eventually get bored and leave me alone. Though it doesn't make it hurt any less. It is a little strange that the other four haven't said or done anything to me yet, normally they would be right with Minerva in ridiculing and hurting me but for some reason they've held back today. I'm not sure if I should be grateful or scared, maybe they are just planning something for later._

 _I was thrusted out of my thoughts when I suddenly found myself flat on the ground, Minerva must of gotten tired of me not paying any attention to her and shoved me hard to the ground._

 _That hurt…my ribs are still healing from the breaks_

 _I made a mistake though…my face showed the discomfort from my fall as I silently winced._

 _Unfortunately for me Minerva saw, and she pounced…like a cat after a mouse, it was nothing but pain after that._

 _The kick was the first thing I felt when I took a blow to the head, I saw stars after that and it took everything I had to choke down the bile that was threatening to come up. I knew the stitches in my lip had busted open when I tasted the familiar copper of blood in my mouth. After that first hit it was a constant stream of kicks and punches, I felt them all over my body…she was laughing the entire time too, it sounded so…evil._

"YOUR NOT WORTHY OF BEING A SABER!" _I heard her suddenly scream at me while she continued to abuse my body. It was getting harder to focus and I was starting to fight going in and out of consciousness, I managed to just grit my teeth and take the blows._

"SOMEONE LIKE YOU IS ONLY WORTHY OF BEING UNDER MY BOOT WHILE I SQUASH YOU LIKE THE WORTHLESS BUG THAT YOU ARE! YOU'LL NEVER BE ACCEPTED HERE! SO WHY DON'T YOU DO US ALL A FAVOR AND JUST DIE ALREADY!" She bellowed at me

 _She managed one more harsh punch to my face before it seemed like her gang thought I had enough. I watched as both Sting and Rogue had to pull her off of me,_

"Calm down Minerva, she's had enough. Let's go before were late for class." Sting said

 _I watched as they dragged her away kicking and screaming that she wasn't done with me yet and that I still apparently hadn't learned my lesson…whatever that might be. I turned back around and glanced up just in time to see what looked like pity on the faces of both Orga and Rufus before they just walked away, leaving me to pick myself back up._

 _I managed to get in to a sitting position, my head just drooping down to look at the stairs to the front doors of the school. I kept an arm wrapped tight around my ribs, I really hope I haven't broken anymore. I inwardly sighed and closed my eyes, all that hard work brother and sister did to help me heal was all for not…I really hope they won't be mad at me for it…I don't know if I can face them again yet. Maybe I'll wait a few weeks, at least until all the newer wounds are healed._

 _I know that won't make them very happy but I think seeing me like this might be worse for them._

 _I silently sighed again as I opened my eyes and looked up to the cloudy skies, it's the middle of October and its starting to become chilly with winter approaching._

 _I looked back down to the ground and steeled myself before willing my aching and screaming body to stand, it took a lot of effort and I didn't realize how much pain I was in until I started to move. I held on to the railing of the stairs until my world stopped spinning and the nausea calmed down before I started walking inside the school._

 _Guess I'll have to stop by Ms. Yukino's office first before I can go to class…_

 _ **Month Later**_

 _Nothing has really changed…once father figured out I came back home it was back to the usual routine with him. School wasn't any different, though my beatings from Minerva were spaced out so I at least had time to heal some before more was added on. Guess that's something to be grateful for…_

 _It's nice though because I get a break from school for a week since tomorrow is Thanksgiving and all, only downside to that is I've been stuck at home with father when he's not at work or at the bar…_

 _My other issue…I haven't seen Mira or Elfman in over a month. I'm sure they are beyond mad at me and worried sick but I couldn't bring myself to face them._

 _It took that full month before I could breathe properly again, my ribs took more damage then I originally thought. But I babied them and made sure to time myself out well enough to avoid father and Minerva so that the breaks had time to fully heal. I can walk without a limp now too, my sprained ankle was healed within a week. I did end up getting a scar below my bottom lip that was about a half an inch long but I figured that would happen after the stitches were busted open. I couldn't get it fixed again so it just had to heal on its own. The only thing that still riddles my body are the bruises but I've accepted that there will always be bruises somewhere on my body and there is not much I can do about it._

 _I was laying down on my mattress just thinking about my life, mainly though I was thinking about Mira and Elfman. I wonder if I should try to go over tomorrow and spend Thanksgiving with them…Would that even be ok though, I mean I haven't seen them since I left that night. I wonder if they've even missed me…_

 _ **MIRA AND ELFMAN**_

Mira was working behind the bar at FC, it was a slow night seeing as Thanksgiving was tomorrow. She was leaning against the counter with her head in her hand sighing, her and Elfman have been worried about Lucy. They haven't seen or heard from her since she left them over a month ago and they have been wondering if something bad happened to her and if they would ever get to see her again. She sighed once more when a familiar brunette plopped herself down on one of the bar stools.

"What's up Mira? You and Elfman have been down and out of sorts for a few weeks now. Did anything happen?" Cana asked chugging down her beer afterwards.

"Oh it's nothing Cana, we're just really worried about someone is all…" She trailed off clearly deep in thought.

"Anybody we know?" Cana questioned

Mira groaned, "No, Elfman and I met her a month ago but we haven't seen her since. We are worried that something really bad happened to her is all. We have no way to contact her to make sure she's ok either…"

Cana smiled softly, "Don't worry too much Mira, I'm sure she will turn up sooner or later."

"I hope your right Cana…"

"I know I am, now about tomorrow. Are we all meeting at your place again for dinner like always? I know Erza and Jellal said something about it." Cana asked

"Aye, Elfman already went out and bought two big turkeys, I'm going to start cooking them tonight. Laxus and Gramps already said they were coming along with Freed, Ever and Bix. Natsu and Gray are supposed to call so they could say hi to everyone too. I'll have you tell Erza and Jellal to meet at the house, everyone else is spending it with their families. Macao mention he might stop by with Romeo but he wasn't sure." Mira said as she thought about everybody she was going to cook for tomorrow.

Cana gave a small laugh, "I miss those boys, it hasn't been the same around here without them starting fights."

"Aye, last I heard their families were heading to France to check up on the hotels and resorts they have there." Mira stated

"Well hopefully they won't be gone too long and we will all be yelling at them for trashing the bar again in no time." Cana joked

Mira only laughed before she went to working cleaning up to close shop.

"You need any help cleaning up before I go?" Cana asked

"No I got it. It'll give me a chance to clear my head for tomorrow." Mira smiled at Cana

"Alright, I'm going to head over to Erza's shop and let them know what the plan is for tomorrow. Bye Mira." Cana waved as she stood to leave

"Bye Cana, see you tomorrow." Mira called out

As soon as she stepped out of the bar Mira walked up and locked the doors then turned to head back and clean up before Elfman showed up to take her home.

It only took her about an hour before Elfman was walking through the back doors, "Hey big sis, you ready to head home?" He questioned

"Yup, just need to grab my purse and we can leave." Mira said as she walked back to the office.

The drive home was a quiet one, Mira simply looked out her window at the passing houses and street lights silently hoping she would spot a familiar head of gold.

"Mira? You ok? You're being awful quiet." Elfman asked giving her a worried sideways glance.

Mira could only sigh again before looking to her brother, "Yea Elf, I'm alright. I've just had a lot on my mind today is all." She tried to give him a reassuring smile but he only frowned.

He finally sighed before turning his full attention back to the road, "Your thinking about little one again aren't you?"

Mira stayed silent for a minute, turning her head to look back out to the world passing them by before she quietly spoke, "yea…I can't help it Elf, I'm worried about her. What if we never see her again? Did we really do the right thing by letting her go?"

Elfman exhaled loudly feeling his heart drop, "I don't know sis…I'm beyond worried about her too, the only thing we can do for now is wait for her and give her the time she needs to come back to us…I miss her terribly though…"

"Me too Elf, I'm going to set out a plate for her tomorrow. I'm not getting my hopes up, but just in case I don't want her to think we forgot about her." Mira said with a small smile.

"That's a great idea big sis." Elfman stated with a soft voice.

Once the duo arrived home, Mira was quick to work on preparing there massive turkeys with the plan on having them slow cook all night long.

The next day it was very hectic in the Strauss house hold. All of their guests had arrived early and while the men sat around the large dining room table idly chatting and drinking, Evergreen, Cana and Erza were running around the kitchen helping Mira finish preparing dinner.

By the time everything was said and done it was already six in the evening, the girls with the guys help had brought all of their hard worked food to the dining table. Turkeys, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, rolls, casseroles, cakes, pies, you name it it was probably on the table.

"Wow my dear, you girls certainly went all out this year. It looks wonderful." Makarov commented with a bright grin on his old face.

"Yea babe, everything looks great." Laxus said as he pulled Mira to him and kissed her forehead.

"Happy Thanksgiving everyone, please dig in!" Mira said with a bright smile on her face.

Makarov sat at one of the heads of the table, Laxus sat to his right with Mira, Elfman and Evergreen on his side, Erza sat at his left with Jellal, Freed, Cana, and Bickslow on her side.

"Happy Thanksgiving but Mira, why is there another plate set out? Are we expecting someone else?" Erza asked observing the lone plate and chair that sat in between Elfman and Mira.

"Oh! Uh, not exactly…but I want to have it set out and ready just in case. You never know who might just pop up looking for food." She quickly explained hoping she wouldn't have to say anything else. Elfman gave her a soft knowing look before he started piling his plate full of food.

Erza gave her an interrogative glare as though she was saying that she didn't believe her story but her explanation seemed to be enough for everyone else as they just shrugged then started grabbing food.

Erza would probably question to her about that later…

Everyone had already said what they were thankful for and were just about to start digging in when they were interrupted by the doorbell.

"I'll get it sis, it's probably just Macao and Romeo. He did say he might stop by, go ahead and start eating everyone I'll be right back." Elfman said as he stood to head to the front door.

He was walking down the familiar hallway, past the kitchen then the living room before he reached the front door. He was expecting to see Macao and Romeo on the other side of that door but when he opened it up he got the shock of a life time.

There before him was the all too acquainted little head of liquid gold though it looked so much duller now, chocolate brown eyes that were slightly drooping down with large almost haunting bags and a cheerful smile that was offset by the large ugly purple bruise harshly placed upon her almost sickly and sunken in pale cheeks.

Elfman could only gawk for a full minuet before he finally choked out, "L-little one?" He questioned it because he wasn't sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him or not.

She somehow smiled even brighter at the giant male before tiny fingers signed, _'Hi big brother.'_

That seemed to be all he needed to see and he dropped to his knees pulling the tiny girl into a crushing hug

"Damn it little one, where have you been?! We've been worried sick about you…" He sighed softly when he felt her tiny arms circle around his neck, snuggling farther into his embrace. He could feel tears burning his eyes.

"We missed you so much…We've been so scared that we would never see you again." He squeezed her even tighter as he felt the tears fall from his eyes.

Lucy pulled back to look at his face, her own twisted with great concern when she seen his tears and she reached up with her small thumbs and brushed the droplets away smiling at him.

' _I'm sorry big brother, please don't cry. I'm here now.'_ She signed to him in hopes that she could make him feel better.

He chuckled softly as he looked at her, "Same little one as before, putting others feelings before your own."

He finally stood back up lifting her up in his arms as he did, she was so small compared to his giant frame. His massive arms encircled around her, completely blocked her from others view, holding her like a father would a newborn.

He was gritting his teeth in anger, she was even lighter than the last time he picked her up.

He relaxed though as soon as he felt her snuggle even closer burying her face in to his chest, her tiny fingers gripping his shirt tightly.

"Come on little one, big sis will be beyond excited to see you again and you can meet some of the family as well." He said closing the door before turning to walk back to the dining room.

 _ **LUCY**_

 _I was really nervous coming back to Mira and Elfman's house, but as soon as Elfman dropped to his knees and crushed me in a hug I knew I made the right choice in coming back here. It made my heart lift a little knowing that they missed me and were worried about me, I'm going to have to figure out some way to make it up to them for being gone so long._

 _I'm scared now though…Elfman said I was going to meet some of his family, what are they going to think of me? Will they like me? Will they accept me like brother and sister have? What if they don't? What if they make me stay away from brother and sister? I don't think I could handle that if they did…_

 _I hide myself even farther into brother's chest as soon as I heard more voices. My heart is beating so fast right now I'm afraid that it might burst through my chest at any minute. I knew we were almost there when the voices were even louder, then all of a sudden they went quite._

"Hey Elf, who was at the door? What do you have in your arms?" _I heard Mira's sweet voice again._

 _Brother shifted slightly and I guess it was enough so that the top of my head was showing because I heard a gasp then what sounded like a chair toppling over and someone running to us. Then I felt a gentle hand on my head and I shifted so I could peek at who was touching me looking at the familiar head of long snow white hair and bright beautiful blue eyes with tears flowing out of them ending in a bright smile._

"Lucy…" _I heard her whisper and I turned so I could look at her fully giving her a bright smile. I didn't even realize how much I had actually missed them until I was able to be with them again._

 _I let go of Elfman's shirt to move my hands and wipe the tears off of Mira's face before I signed, 'Hi big sister.'_

 _Elfman's grip loosened some and he knelt down so Mira could envelope me in her own crushing hug. I smiled big again and wrapped my arms around her back hugging her tightly to myself._

 _Our moment was cut short though when we heard someone clear their throat, it was then that I remembered there were other people here and I suddenly became super panicked. My grip on the back of Mira's shirt tightened and I buried my face in her chest hoping to disappear from the strangers eyes._

"Mira, Elfman, care to explain what's going on?" _I heard the voice of a male call out._

"Yea guys, who is that?" _A voice of a lady next._

 _Then I felt and heard Mira sigh,_ "Looks like our secret is out Elf." _I heard her say. Then she was slowly loosening her grip around me until she completely let go only to have Elfman cradle me back in his arms again as he stood back up. I guess he must of felt how tense and afraid I was because I was hidden again in his arms._

"Guys…I'm sorry we didn't say anything about her but this is the first time we've seen her again in over a month."

 _I heard Mira start talking_

"Wait wait wait a minute, you mean to tell me that whoever that is in Elf's arms is who you guys have been worried about for the past few weeks?"

 _I heard the new ladies voice again._

"Who is she Mira?"

 _This time it was a gruff sounding male that spoke, his voice is a bit terrifying._

"Calm down everyone, she's already panicked enough without you guys trying to pass judgement on her."

"We're not passing judgement Mira, we are simply concerned as to why you two have not mentioned this new person. Whoever that is effected you two enough that you weren't yourselves for weeks, even now you are different Mira. You're acting almost like a mother protecting her child and you Elfman are practically shielding who ever that is with your body. Who is she to you guys, that's all we want to know."

 _I'm not sure what to do, they sound mad at me…_

 _I think I heard Mira sigh again, then she started talking…_

"Her name is Lucy and she's only eleven years old."

 _I heard a bunch of gasps and I gripped brother's shirt tighter before I started listening again._

"Elfman and I found her after she had just collapsed walking down the sidewalk a month ago. She was bleeding profusely and she was riddled with bruises and broken bones, we weren't sure if she was going to make it that night. We ended up bringing her home and called Porly to save her life…What she found was nothing short of disgusting. She had a sprained ankle, four broken ribs, her lip was split open, one of her eyes was so swollen she couldn't see out of it for a full day. The worst wound was the deep gash on the back of her head that had to be stapled shut to keep her from bleeding to death."

 _I heard Mira let out a shaky breath and I felt Elfman squeeze me closer._

"After that Porly told us she examined her farther and what we heard shattered our hearts…on top of all those wounds she was covered head to toe in bruises shaped like hands and feet. Then she told us that there were older wounds, older breaks that had already healed…scars…covering her body that are years old. She was malnourished then too, we could see ribs when she showed us."

"…Oh my god…"

 _I heard the voice of another woman breath out_

"Just the small time I got to hold her now I can tell she's even thinner and she has a fresh bruise on her cheek. That just tells me that her life hasn't gotten any better, I could bet that it's gotten worse."

 _Mira sounded like she was crying again…I hate it when she cries, it makes my heart hurt._

"Why didn't you keep her here with you two then? Why did you allow her to return to where ever she came from?"

 _Another male voice, three new guys and three new girls so far. How many people are here?_

"We tried…we begged her to stay with us but she insisted that she go home…"

 _That made me feel horrible…I shouldn't of left, I should of stayed here…but…I don't want them to get in trouble…I finally figured out why I had to leave…it was because I'm afraid that if father found out I was living with them he would hurt them too…I can't let that happen, I care too much to let them get hurt too._

"Mira, I think it's time we see and speak to this child for ourselves."

"She doesn't talk, she's mute. But she does know sign language…just please be slow and gentle with her everyone. She's beyond frightened right now and I don't want her to feel like this isn't a safe place anymore."

"We understand Mira."

"I think she will be more comfortable if I continue to hold her, she might be more willing to communicate with everyone that way too."

"As you wish."

 _I felt brother start to walk before he finally sat down, he still kept me cocooned in his arms so no one could see me._

"Lucy?"

 _I heard a male voice calling my name._

"Child may we see your face please? I promise you we mean you no harm, we would just like to get to know you if that's ok."

 _I felt scared, I'm not sure why either but I'm not sure if I can trust these new people yet. I ended up burying my face farther into brother's chest shaking my head no, I felt him let out a breath._

"Little one, it's alright. They won't hurt you, besides I'm right here and so is big sis, we won't let anything bad happen to you I promise."

 _Maybe it would be ok if I took a peek, that couldn't hurt right?_

 _I took in a deep silent breath before I steeled myself and loosened the grip on brother's shirt. Then I shifted myself slightly so I could just peek over Elfman's arms. I noticed we were in the dining room at the other head of the table and there were people sitting all around the table in their own chairs._

 _I saw a lady with light brunette hair, a man with lighter blonde hair and a scar running down one of his eyes, I saw an older man who looked like he was really small and he had white hair, then I saw a lady with bright red hair, a guy next to her with blue hair and a tattoo on his face. I remember brother and sister telling me about these people, I saw a guy with long green hair, then another lady with brunette hair, and last a guy who was wearing a fedora hat, he had this weird tattoo on his face too._

"Hello young one, my name is Makarov, you can call me gramps though if that is more comfortable."

 _I snapped my eyes to the small older man, he was giving me a kind and gentle smile, almost looks like brother and sister's smile. Makes me feel better…I lifted one of my hands up slightly and gave a small wave before I shot it back down into hiding._

"My dear I promise you are safe here, there is nothing to worry about."

 _Gramps is trying to get me to lift my head more, maybe I can trust the new people. Brother and sister like them and they wanted me to meet them at some point anyways so maybe I should give them a chance. I shifted again and lifted my head up so they could fully see my face, I just rested my chin on Elfman's arm while I looked at everyone. To my surprise they all gave me small kind smiles. I decided after that that I could handle sitting down fully, so I turned to look at brother and he seemed to know what I was thinking and loosened his arms fully so I could turn and sit in his lap._

"I think introductions are in order, so everyone if you please, one at a time." _Gramps said_

"I'm Evergreen, you can call me Ever if you like."

"Laxus."

"My name is Erza."

"I'm Jellal."

"My name is Freed."

"Call me Cana little one."

"Bickslow."

 _Yup I do know who they are, Mira and Elfman talked about everyone before I left._

 _I gave them all a small smile before I signed, 'Hi everyone, I'm Lucy. Big brother and big sister have told me lots about everyone.'_

"Nice to finally meet you Lucy, would you like to have dinner with us?" _Erza asked me_

 _I thought about it for a minute, would they really let me join?_

' _If it's really ok with everyone, I don't want to impose. I promise I won't eat much.' I signed._

"Nonsense, you eat as much as you like, there is plenty of food to go around. Though I do wonder, why did you say you won't eat much?" _Erza asked and everyone else seemed to have the same question as they were all nodding their heads._

' _Well. I'm not allowed to eat a lot, father says I'm fat enough as is.' I signed again_

 _I felt Elfman's grip around me tighten then I see everyone else with frowns on their faces now. Did I do something wrong?_

 _ **ERZA**_

I can't believe what we just seen, how the hell can her father say such deplorable things to her? And how can she just brush it off like its nothing?!

It's taking everything in my power not to explode right now so I take several deep breaths, I don't want to scare her and chance her leaving again.

"Lucy…I'm going to ask you three questions and I want you to be completely honest with me. Can you do that?" I asked her, Jellal gave me a questioning look at first be he seemed to understand that these questions needed to be asked before turning this attention back to Lucy.

"Take it slow Erza…" I hear gramps whisper to me

"Keep it soft as well…" I was surprise to hear Laxus whisper that and I only nodded keeping my eyes on Lucy.

We watched her for a good minuet, seeming as though she was at war with her own thoughts. We then watched Mira place her hand on Lucy's head and that seemed to help, she redirected her attention back to me and nodded.

"Very good, now first question. When was the last time you ate?" I asked, knowing that was something everyone else was wondering too.

She signed _'a week ago'_ almost immediately and my heart plummeted into my stomach. I swallowed thickly before asking my next question.

"Second question, is your father the one hurting you?" I'm still not sure if I even want to know the answer to this question but it must be asked.

I watched as she lowered her head, looking at the table and again we watched as she seemed to battle it out with her thoughts, we watched Elfman grip her tighter and Mira started stroking her hair. They really are treating her just like family…

She didn't sign this time, didn't look up either but we all watched as she slowly nodded her head again.

"God damn it…" Jellal whisper out loud.

"Disgraceful…" I heard Freed whisper out as well.

I watched as everyone gritted their teeth and clenched their fists clearly angered. I took another deep breath to calm my own rage. I cleared my throat and asked my last question,

"Last question, can I ask that you stand up and take off your sweater please?" I tried to keep my voice calm and gentle.

She turned to look to Mira and she gave the small girl a sad smile before nodding her head at her. We watched as she slowly slid off of Elfman's lap and stood in front of Mira keeping her gaze glued to the floor.

I decided to take this chance and stood up as well making my way to the small girl. I stopped right in front of her and knelt down so I was eye level with her, she slowly lifted her head to look at me.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, we just want to help you." I gave her a reassuring smile.

She surprised me with a sudden hug and I almost toppled backwards. I hesitated for a second looking towards Mira and Elfman only to see them both smiling at us, I smiled back and wrapped my arms around Lucy, returning her hug. Lucy pulled away from me first, standing up fully and looked at me, I gave her one more smile and that seemed to help her. She reached down and tugged up her oversized hoodie…we all gasped…I had to choke down the vomit that was threating to come up as we all looked at her uncovered body.

Her arms were covered from wrists to shoulders in bruises, majority of them were in the shapes of large fingers. We could tell how malnourished she was as well, her collar bones were clearly visible and you could see some of her rib cage from what wasn't covered in a small tank top. Her skin was a sickly pale color all over, it wasn't just her face…her body looked like it could give out at any moment.

My resolve was completely shattered at that point and I felt tears falling from my eyes as I pulled the tiny girl to my chest, placing a hand on the back of her head and another around her small body. She wrapped her arms around me as well and I just cried,

"You p-poor thing…h-how can anyone be s-so cruel to you?" I asked her tears still flying out of my eyes.

She pulled away to look at me again, she frowned and furrowed her brows before reaching her hands to my face and used her thumbs to remove the tears before I watched her sign,

' _Please don't cry, I don't like it when brother and sister cry either, it makes my heart hurt. You seem like a nice person and I like you so please don't cry. Your way to pretty to be crying anyways.'_

I felt my heart instantly start to bleed and I was completely flabbergasted…

"How? How can you still be so sweet and caring after all you've been through?" I whispered to her.

I heard Mira and Elfman both chuckle, "We asked her that same question." Mira said

She stunned me even more when she gave me a very bright and genuine smile,

' _Mama always said to treat others with kindness no matter how they may treat you in return.'_ She signed to me.

I sighed smiling at her before placing one of my hands on her head, "Come on then, let's eat some Thanksgiving dinner before it gets too cold yea?"

She simply nodded and we all returned to the table, we will have to get her full story from Mira and Elfman later.

* * *

 _ **~AN~**_

 _ **SOOOOOOOOOOO**_

 _ **I hope the longer chapter will make up for my taking forevers…**_

 _ **Let me know how I did!**_

 _ **UNTIL NEXT TIME!**_

 _ **Much love from a tkitty XD**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**OK….**_

 _ **I know I'm supposed to do Celestial next but…..to be honest I'm having a hard time with it.**_

 _ **Plus I already had the next chapter in my head for SbLs, so I decided to upload a chapter for this story instead T_T**_

 _ **I promise, as soon as I can get back into the groove with Celestial I'll have the next chapter for you. I'm just struggling lol**_

 _ **I changed the state they were from too just so everyone knows. It was honestly driving me nuts…I live in a place where it actually gets cold and snows, so hoodies and jeans are a normal thing for me. Putting her in Florida originally just bugged the shit out of me lol too hot. XD**_

 _ **ANNNNNNNYWAYS!**_

 _ **CHAPTER 4 Y'ALL**_

* * *

Once everyone was done eating their fill, Mira took Lucy upstairs to run her a nice hot bath while everyone else sat down in the living room and waited for her to return.

They were going to get the answers to their many questions tonight.

"Elfman…you do realize that you and Mira have a lot of explaining to do right?" Makarov finally broke the silence.

"Aye gramps…we know." Elfman could only sigh out as he looked at the carpeted floor, Evergreen put a hand on his arm and squeezed to let him know she was there.

Mira came back down not five minutes later and she looked pale.

"Mira? Everything ok?" Erza asked as soon as she seen her enter the living room.

Mira took a deep breath in and sighed, "No….not at all….Lucy...her body is worse than we thought. I'm amazed she can even still walk with how thin she is, not to mention her entire body is covered in black and blue bruises." Mira had tears in her eyes as she looked to her brother, "We s-shouldn't have let her go…we should o-of made her stay w-with us Elf…she looks so m-much worse…"

Laxus stood and walk to the sobbing woman before pulling her to his chest cradling her head with one hand while the other rubbed up and down her spine.

He didn't say anything, just let her cry

When she started to calm down again he walked her to the sofa he was sitting on and pulled her in his lap. She rested her head against his shoulder as she and her brother waited for their family to collect their thoughts.

"First and for most, I would like to know why you two didn't call the authorities." Makarov asked

Elfman decided to answer, "We did gramps, as soon as she left us we went down to the police station to talk to someone about what we found out. They told us there was nothing they could do for her without physical proof such as little one herself. They also said that since we didn't know her last name or her father's name they would have no way to be able to find her. They basically said there was nothing they could do and pushed us out the door." He growled out.

"I see." Makarov said as he thought it over with his chin in his hand.

"Why didn't you ask her full name?" Jellal asked

"Lucy is a lot smarter then you guys give her credit for. She was careful with everything she told us, yes she opened up to us and told us about her life but she made sure to never once mention her father's name, her last name or her school and she even when as far as to deny a ride from Elfman to go home so we didn't know where she lived either." Mira said

"Why would she do that? If she felt safe here, why would she purposefully hide crucial information that we could use to help her?" Erza asked.

"I believe I can answer that one Erza," Makarov started

"I think that she has been pre-programed, in a word, to make sure that if she ever did open up to anyone she would never give off any information that could lead back to her abuser. In other words, I would bet that her father threatened her saying he would hurt her and whoever she told if anyone found out what he was doing to her."

"That fucking bastard…if I ever get my hands on hi-"

"Easy Laxus." Mira interrupted the enraged male with a calm voice.

"You know…now that I think about it, little one did sign something about if her father saw me dropping her off he would know she talked to someone…" Elfman trailed off as he thought about it more

"Then my assumptions were correct then…she is not only protecting herself from more harm but she was also protecting you two believing that you would be harmed as well." Makarov stated and everyone sighed

"Do either of you know exactly when this all started? You said Porly found wounds that were years old but just how many years?" Cana asked

"From what she signed to us, this all started a year after her mother was killed in a car crash after being hit by a drunk driver. She was five when her mother passed away…when the abuse started it was also the same year that she became mute. She signed that she learned if she stayed quiet, her abusers would get bored and stop hurting her…she took it to extremes and stopped making sounds all together." Mira explained

"She has been going through this since she was six years old?!…Even going as far as creating survival instincts to keep herself from getting hurt more…" Erza growled out through gritted teeth, her fists were balled tight enough that her knuckles were turning white.

"Grandfather…we cannot allow her to leave again. We cannot have her returning to that vile creature, you have to convince her to stay…If she does not I fear she may not make it out alive this time if she is truly as bad as Mirajane stated." Freed all but begged the elder.

"It may not be that simple my children, we are talking about a child who has known nothing but violence since her mother's passing. That is until she was found by Mira and Elfman, she's not going to trust new people so easily. I believe the only reason why she was able to open up to us is because they already talk to her about us, not to mention they were with her when we talked to her. I watched her every movement from the moment she first made herself visible in Elfman's arms. She looked to those two for guidance and help every chance she could, she feels safe with them. I would even go as far as to say she might feel the same way with Erza after witnessing how she interacted with her."

Makarov let out a breath and closed his eyes before he continued, "The damage has already been done…her body is more than proof of that. If Mira didn't say her exact age I would have guess she was only seven and not a pre-teen, it is plainly obvious that because she is so malnourished and because of her bones being broken continuously, it stunted her growth to terrible extremes. I have a sinking suspicion that she will always be small now no matter if her life gets better or not."

"WELL WE CAN'T JUST NOT DO ANYTHING GRAMPS! SHE NEEDS OUR HELP! SHE NEEDS US TO STAND UP FOR HER! SHE'S BEEN ON HER OWN FOR FAR TOO LONG AS IS!" Laxus yelled out completely taking everyone by surprise. He's never been one to feel so passionately about anyone besides Mira and gramps, so for him to feel this way for Lucy is very strange indeed.

"Calm down brat, I never said we weren't going to try and help her merely that I am not sure how at the moment on what we should do…I think we first need to try and convince Lucy to cooperate with us. Let her know that we want to help her and give her a new home and family, not only that but seek the medical attention she so desperately needs for not only her physical state but mental state as well. THAT is where I am stuck, if she does not cooperate I am unsure on what to do from there." Makarov calmly explained.

"Gramps, how should we go about convincing her? I mean if Mira and Elfman couldn't even do it the first time, what better chances do we have?" Bickslow asked and everyone seemed to nodded their agreements

"That for now I am still unsure of but I think it's about time we get Lucy here with us and try to talk to her." Makarov said

"She should be ready to get out by now, it's been almost an hour. I'll go up and help her get ready." Mira said as she stood from Laxus' lap heading to the stairs.

Mira came down some time later with Lucy in tow clad in a pair of clean baby blue fluffy pajamas pants and a plain white long sleeved pajama top.

They all smiled at her before Makarov sent out a greeting, "Hello again young one, please come sit with us we have much we would like to discuss with you."

Lucy looked at Mira first before looking back to the elder, nodding her head and walking to sit in between Erza and Elfman on their sofa.

' _So she is comfortable around Erza, we might be able to use that to our advantage.'_ Makarov thought as he studied the small girl.

 _ **LUCY**_

 _That bath felt amazing and big sis gave me all sorts of body scrubs and shampoos, I was a bit over whelmed with everything. She even put in this oil stuff that smelt like roses into the tub, she said it would help make my skin feel and look better._

 _I've never felt so pampered before, it was kind of nice_

 _I have no idea how long I just sat in the tub and soaked but it must have been a long time because Mira came back in to help me finish washing since I was too sore to do it myself. She helped me dress in some comfy pajamas too, she even told me that her younger sister use to wear them, it made me feel special that she would share something that belonged to her sister with me._

 _It really made me feel like I belonged._

 _I was walking behind Mira when we started heading back down the stairs, I didn't hear any voices so I was assuming that everyone else went home. I was surprised though when we rounded the corner of the stairs and I see everyone sitting in the living room flashing me small smiles._

"Hello again young one, please come sit with us we have much we would like to discuss with you." _I heard gramps talking to me. I looked at Mira first seeing her nod her head at me before I looked back to everyone and nodded my head as well._

 _I walked to the sofas and decided to sit in between big brother and Erza, for some reason Erza makes me feel safe too. She gives off this aura that is gentle but at the same time powerful, I feel as though she can take on anyone in this room and win without a doubt. Plus she smells a lot like the strawberry cakes mama use to make and I really like it…_

"Child, how are you feeling?" _Gramps asked me_

' _A lot better thank you, I've only ever gotten to take cold showers either at home or at the locker room at my school. I haven't had a hot bath since mama was still alive.' I signed with a smile on my face._

"Do you ever get to take hot showers at home?" _He asked_

' _No, father never pays for heat so we have no hot water.' I signed_

 _I heard everyone let out a sigh, I noticed they do that a lot when I answer questions…I don't understand why either…_

"Lucy dear, I want you to listen to me closely now and keep an open mind for me ok?" _Gramps asked_

 _I was a bit hesitant and I surprised myself when I started leaning more towards Erza. She must have sensed my apprehension and wrapped an arm around my shoulders pulling me to her side, I relaxed instantly and nodded my head to gramps._

"We want to get you help Lucy. We want you to see a doctor for not only your physical self but your mental as well, I would also like to move you to Fairy Tail Academy and University so that Laxus and I can keep an eye on you. We would like for you to talk to someone in the police department about your life and what you have gone through. We do not like to see someone so young to have to go through so many hardships that no human being should ever have to go through…Lucy what I am trying to say not only for myself but everyone in my family is we want you apart of us. We want you in our family and we promise nothing but the absolute best for you." _He finished talking with a calming smile_

 _I was stunned…I really wasn't sure what to think. They want to do all this stuff for me and get me help, not only that but they just invited me to be a part of their family…_

' _I-'_

 _I started to sign but I stopped myself…I really don't know what to say_

"You don't have to give us an answer tonight, we just want you to think about it. You can take all the time you need, we aren't going anywhere." _Erza said looking down at me and smiling when I looked up at her._

 _I gave her a weak smile and was suddenly filled with fatigue, it was very late and it has been an emotional day at that. I let out a silent yawn and felt my eyelids start to droop,_

"Come on, let's get you to bed. I'm sure today has been exhausting for you…what you be ok if I tucked you in?" _Erza asked and I sleepily nodded my head standing up with her to head upstairs._

 _She opened up the door that is supposed to be my room and led me to the bed, she pulled back the covers and I slowly slid in laying down and feeling her wrap the warm blankets around my body._

 _I watched as she knelt down in front of my face before she started talking to me_

"Lucy, I know we have said this a lot tonight but we all really do care for you and we just want you to be safe and happy." _She gave me a small smile before she continued,_ "tell you what, if you promise to come with me to the police station and at least hear an officer or a social worker out I'll take you to my shop with Jellal and get you the biggest piece of strawberry cake I have. How does that sound? After we can take you across the street to Fairies Corner so you can see where Mira and Elfman work."

 _I smiled brightly, 'really?!' I signed_

"Really" _she answered back_

' _I haven't had cake since mama was alive and strawberry was my favorite.' I signed excitedly_

"Well then do we have a deal?"

 _I nodded my head vigorously and she chuckled at me_

"Alright, I will let Mira and Elfman know about our plans and Jellal and I will be here to pick you up in the morning. You go to sleep and get plenty of rest and I will see you tomorrow."

 _I only nodded my head sleepily again, a smile still on my lips as I closed my eyes. I felt Erza place a hand on my head before I heard the door to my room shut and felt myself succumb to sleep almost immediately._

 _ **NORMAL**_

Soon as Erza closed the door she sighed and leaned back against it.

' _How can someone so young and so innocent be subjected to unspeakable torture,'_ she thought to herself

She sighed once more before turning to make her way back downstairs to inform every one of her and Lucy's deal.

As soon as she rounded the corner everyone looked up at her.

"Erza, how did it go?" Makarov asked

"You were right gramps, she's comfortable with me, and we even made a deal for tomorrow." she answered

"Alright then, come sit so we can figure out our plans for tomorrow." He said gesturing for her to sit and she made her way back to her spot between Elfman and Jellal.

"Ok so first, what deal did you make with Lucy?" Makarov questioned

"I told her that if she goes with me and Jellal to the station tomorrow morning and at least sits and hears out either an officer or a social worker then I would take her to our shop for cake. After we would take her to FC to see Mira and Elfman, she seemed really excited about everything and agreed." Erza finished

"Wonderful, now all we can hope for is if she decides to open up tomorrow." Makarov said as he sat deep in thought.

"Well I could give my old man a call and have him talk to little one tomorrow. He was transferred back to Magnolia a few weeks ago and child cases are his specialty." Cana suggested

"Good idea Cana, can you call him now?" Jellal asked

"I can give it a try." She answered as she pulled out her cell, dialing a number before placing it against her ear.

They all watched her and waited, keeping their fingers crossed as they listened to her talk to her father.

" _Yo old man, it's Cana…..yea I know I don't call enough….yea I kno-…..old man can you give me a se-…..just pause for on-….DAD!...I need you to listen to me for a second alright, this is important...…I need you at the station tomorrow morning, Erza and Jellal are gonna stop by with someone special and we need you to try and talk to her…..yes I know you don't like taking random cases but you need to this once, please…...dad…she's an eleven year old abuse victim…...ok I'll tell them...…yea they will be there bright and early…ok…love you too."_ She finally hung up sighing loudly

"He wants you there bright and early tomorrow morning, as soon as I mention Lucy his whole demeanor flipped. He's more than willing to help." Cana finally said and everyone released a breath of relief.

"Very good, I believe Laxus and I will head to the court house tomorrow morning as well and talk to my old friend. He's currently the head judge for the entire town, I'm sure as soon as we explain things to him and he gets in contact with Gildarts he will be more than willing to help us out." Makarov stated

"What are you going to have your judge friend do gramps?" Mira asked

"Simple really, I want him to give us temporary custody of Lucy. That way we are protected legally incase her father randomly decided to file a report of her missing and that will also give us more time to help her heal and finish opening up so we can take legal actions against her father. Until then I want her with one of us at all times so we know she is safe and taken care of. When we are finally able to put that monster behind bars we will then make the custody fully legal and if she chooses we will change her last name. It matters not how long it takes for her to heal, and I will make it my personal job to keep our temporary custody of her going so she can stay with us." Makarov explained to everyone

"Superb planning Grandfather, I trust that you will want all family members present tomorrow afternoon then when Erza and Jellal bring Miss Lucy to FC then?" Freed asked

"Yes Freed, I want you, Ever, Cana and Bickslow to gather all our family members and be there and ready to welcome Lucy. We want to make sure that she has support not only from everyone here but also from those she has yet to meet. This is our one chance to make sure she stays with us and feels safe so we cannot afford to mess this up, I'm counting on you brats, so let's make Lucy feel at home." Makarov exclaimed

"Aye!" Everyone agreed before they all stood to head home, they had a lot to plan for and get ready for Lucy.

Once everyone left, Mira and Elfman made their way upstairs to head to bed but not before stopping at Lucy's door to peak in and check on her.

"I really hope everything goes as planned tomorrow Elf…Lucy really deserves a chance at a normal life." Mira sighed quietly as they both stood in the doorway peering down at the small girl sleeping away.

"Aye big sis, but I have a feeling luck will be on our side tomorrow. She opened up and allowed Erza in and she didn't seem uncomfortable with everyone else either, I'm sure once she sees our life and meets the rest of the family she won't want to ever leave again." Elfman said with a smile

"I hope your right Elf, come on. Let's get some sleep, we have to be up early tomorrow if we want to make sure Lucy has a good breakfast before she leaves with Erza tomorrow." Mira stated before closing Lucy's door and heading to her room.

"Night big sis."

"Goodnight Elf."

 _ **MORNING LUCY**_

 _I woke up to the sounds of knocking on my door before someone walked in,_

"Time to wake up little one, big sis wants you to have a good breakfast before Erza and Jellal come to pick you up."

 _I silently yawned, stretching my arms and legs out as far as they would go, satisfied when I hear multiple pops before I looked up at big brother._

' _Morning big brother' I signed giving him a sleepy smile_

"Good morning little one, did you sleep well?" _he asked with a small smile on his face_

' _Yes I did though I am still a little sore, but it's not as bad as it normally is.' I signed_

 _I heard him sigh quietly before he dropped a massive hand down on my head,_ "Come on little one, let's get you some pain medicine and some food."

 _I only nodded before standing up a little shakily before following big brother down stairs._

 _Big sis was still in the kitchen when we walked past,_ "Mira, little one signed she was still sore. Could you grab her a couple pain killers?" _Brother asked_

"Of course Elf, you two go ahead and sit down in the dining room and I'll be in there in just a sec." _Sister said_

 _I followed brother to the dining room, sitting down in the chair right next to him while we waited for big sis to come in._

"Alright, I have your favorite today Lucy, strawberry pancakes with syrup and whipped cream, scrambled eggs, bacon and a big glass of milk." _Mira said as she walked in with tons of food_

 _I felt my mouth watering as I eyed all the food she set down in front of me._

' _Thank you Mira!' I signed excitedly as I started placing food on my plate._

 _I was just about to start digging in when the doorbell rang_

"I'll get it, it's probably just Erza and Jellal." _Big brother said as he stood to answer the door_

 _I started eating slowly falling into my only little corner of paradise filled with strawberry pancakes when I heard brother walk back in._

"Good morning everyone, I hope you don't mind if we join you for breakfast?" _I turned around chewing a mouth full of food to see Erza and Jellal standing in the door way, they both sent me smiles and I swallowed before smiling back._

"Of course guys, come sit. I figured you would just come over for food so I made plenty for everyone."

 _They sat across the table next to big sis grabbing their own food to eat_

"Did you sleep well Lucy?" _Erza asked me and I nodded_

' _Yes I did though I am still sore. But I told big brother that it wasn't as bad as it normally is, I think that bath last night really helped.' I signed to them before turning back to my food_

 _I was too focused on my food and missed the pointed looks everyone was giving each other before they all started digging in as well._

 _After I had finished eating big sis handed me a few pills saying they were for pain and some were vitamins._

 _I took them and smiled signing, 'Thank you'_

"You're welcome Lucy, now how about me and you go upstairs and get you dressed so you can leave with Erza and Jellal." _Sis said as she stood, I followed her back down the hallway and up the stairs to my room and I sat down on the bed watching as she went through the drawers and the closet looking for clothes for me._

"AH HA! Here we go, these should fit nicely."

 _She was holding up a pair of blue jeans and a black long sleeved shirt that said 'Metallica' in red on the front. She also had a clean pair of socks and what looked like a pair of brand new black and white converse. To finish off the outfit she had black leather jacket and a red scarf to wrap around my neck._

 _She helped me put everything on and I was a bit saddened because everything was loose on me._

 _I looked up at her with a sad face and she gave me a small reassuring smile,_ "Don't worry Lucy, we will have you fit and healthy in no time. I'm sure I have a belt somewhere that we can us to help your pants stay on. Don't let it get you down ok? We will make you better."

' _I really like the clothes though, I just wished that I wasn't so sickly that they don't fit.' I signed looking to the floor, I felt tears starting to burn my eyes._

 _It was then that we heard a knock on the door then Erza walked in closing it behind her._

"Mira, Lucy…what's wrong?" _I heard her ask but I didn't lift my head_

 _I heard sis walk over to where Erza was and I heard her whisper,_ "She's really upset that the clothes I got her don't quite fit."

"I see…" _I heard Erza answer back_

 _I heard footsteps coming closer before I seen a pair of shoes stop in front of me, then I felt arms wrap around me,_ "Don't worry Lucy, we will get you the help you need." _Erza said as she squeezed me tighter. I only nodded my head willing the tears to go away before she pulled away and stood up._

"Come on then, let's start our day. You still want strawberry cake right?" _she asked me and I finally looked up at them and smiled nodding my head again._

 _I followed them back down stairs and too the living room where brother and Jellal were waiting for us._

"You guys ready to go then?" _I heard brother ask_

"Aye, were meeting with Gildarts first before we head to the shop. I'll call when we leave the station to make sure plans haven't changed. We are to still meet at FC this afternoon correct?" _I heard Erza ask_

"Aye, me and big sis will be there waiting for you guys." _Brother answered_

 _I then followed everyone outside to see Erza and Jellal's shiny strawberry red Camaro, my eyes were really wide…it was really pretty._

 _I heard everyone chuckling behind me,_ "I take it you like Erza car huh little one?" _brother asked and I could only nod before I turned around and gave everyone a bright smile._

"Alright well you go have fun with those two and we will see you later at Fairies Corner ok?" _Mira asked_

 _I ran back and gave her a big hug feeling brother place a hand on my head before I let go and turned to head back to Ezra's car._

 _ **NORMAL**_

The three travelers had already left heading in the direction of the police station, Erza and Jellal were both silently hoping that everything would go as planned and Lucy would at the very least hear Gildarts out.

Meanwhile, Makarov and Laxus were walking into the courthouse determined to talk to Makarov's old friend for help.

They were both sitting in the waiting room patiently waiting for the judge to come and get them.

"Ah, it's good to see you again Makie."

Makarov looked up to see his dear friend Yajima standing in the doorway.

"Hello old friend, it's been awhile. Thank you for taking time to meet with us." Makarov said as he stood to shake his friends hand.

Yajima waved his hand back and forth in front of his face before saying, "Eh, think nothing of it Makie. Beside you made it sound urgent and I am willing to help in any way I can. Come on then, let's take this meeting to my office yea?"

Makarov and Laxus followed the old man to his massive office taking a seat in the chairs in front of his desk, hearing him close the doors behind them.

They waited until he was seated behind his desk before they got down to business.

"Now, tell me what this is all about." He asked the two

"Well Yajima we have run into a big problem. My children: Mirajane and Elfman, happened to be at the right place at the right time to find a small girl that had just collapsed along the sidewalk about a month ago. They took her in and called Porly to come and treat her, what they said Porly found was nothing short of barbaric. The poor child was riddled head to toe in broken bones, cuts and bruises and to make matters worse they were informed that she suffered older wounds that were years old. Not only that but she was severely malnourished, if Mirajane had not informed us of the child's age last night I would of thought her only seven years old and not a pre-teen. Her growth has been severely stunted and I am afraid that she will always be small now." Makarov paused to catch his breath but Laxus decided to start filling in.

"They told us that after she was treated they put her to bed, the next day the girl somehow had managed to sneak out of the house without the two ever knowing until they went up to check on her. They ended up splitting up to track her down and eventually found her almost to town, they brought her back to their place where they made sure she felt safe." Laxus finished as he stopped to catch his breath now.

Makarov took back over and began talking again, "It was after she was comfortable enough that the two found out the child was a mute but knew sign language. It was after that that she finally opened up and signed to them her entire story and I must say it is nothing short of heartbreaking. She ended up staying the night that night and had breakfast with them the next morning, unfortunately she signed to Mirajane and Elfman that she had to go home but that is where our problem is. When she was signing her story to them she had confessed that her own father and children at her school were the ones abusing her."

Laxus took over again as he started talking, "Mira and Elfman tried to get her to stay with them but the kid insisted that she just go back home. I guess that the two ended up going to the cops trying to get help for her but since they didn't know the important information the cops basically said there was nothing they could do and kicked them out. The kid didn't show up again for a full month and ended up showing up again last night where we met her, and let me tell you something old man…if I ever get my hands on that monster that dares call himself her father I'll be spending some time in jail too." He growled out clenching his fists.

"The child, by Mirajanes words, was worse off than when she had left them over a month ago. In fact Mirajane even stated that she was amazed the child could even walk anymore with how thin she actually was. The child may as well be a walking skeleton at this point and she is covered head to toe in hand shaped bruises. As of right now we have the child with Erza and Jellal and they should be on their way to the police station to meet up with Gildarts, where your help is needed is we need you to grant us temporary custody of the child so that not only are we legally protected but she is protected as well." Makarov finished.

Yajima thought over all this information as he closed his eyes humming to himself.

"Quite the dilemma you have yourself in Makie but I will be able to help. I will get in contact with the police station and talk to Gildarts myself, we must make sure that we have photographic evidence of the state of the child right now. If she is as bad as you say I feel as though this is going to be a long process to help this child but help I will none the less. I will call as soon as I have the legal papers ready for you to sign Makie, in the meantime get ahold of doctors and get that child help as soon as possible." Yajima finished as he smiled to his old friend.

Makarov reached a hand out and over the desk shaking his hand, "Thank you Yaj, you have no idea how much your help means to me and my family. This child deserves a better life and we are bound and determined to give it to her."

Laxus was the next to reach out and shake the elder man's hand, "Thanks old timer."

The two then stood and made their way out of Yajimas' office to make their way to FC and wait for the arrival of the three.

Going back to Erza, Jellal and Lucy they were just pulling up to the police station.

"Ok Lucy, now we are going inside to talk to an old friend of ours so there is no need to worry." Erza stated looking in the back seat at the small girl. Lucy could only weakly nod her head already feeling the effects of fear as her body started to tremble.

Erza and Jellal opened their doors and stepped out of the car, Jellal then laid his seat down for Lucy to be able to crawl out seeing as she was sitting behind him for the ride over. He gave the frightened girl a smile before holding his hand out to help her.

Lucy slowly placed her shaking hand in his and climbed out of the car moving away just enough so he could close the door. She didn't want to let go of his hand though and only ended up clutching it tighter when he made a move to let go. He was shocked at first but as he looked at her down casted head and shaking body he tightened his grip before gently pulling the girl behind him following Erza inside the station.

Erza looked at Jellal raising one of her brows seeing him still holding Lucy's hand, "She didn't want me to let go, she's beyond frightened right now." He answered her silent question to which she only nodded and continued her way inside.

Jellal trailed behind taking it slower for Lucy's sake as they made their way to the front desk.

"Yes? How may we help you?" the officer at the front desk asked the trio

"We are here to speak to Officer Gildarts Clive ma'am." Erza answered

"Ah yes, he's on the phone at the moment but I can walk you to the room where your meeting will be held. Please right this way." She ushered the small group to follow her down a small hallway coming to a stop in front of a room that had a single table with four chairs placed around it.

"I will inform him of your arrival, he shouldn't be too much longer." She announced

"Thank you for your help." Erza said as the officer closed the door

The trio remained standing and Lucy made sure to keep herself hidden behind Erza and Jellal, she was still scared beyond all belief and trembling uncontrollably.

"Don't worry Lucy, we are here to get you some more help and if it will make you more comfortable then Erza and I will stay in front of you the whole time, ok?" Jellal asked as he bent down to look at the small girl in the eyes.

Lucy looked up and nodded her head before she slowly wrapped her arms around Jellals neck. He in return wrapped his arms carefully around her tiny body looking up at the smiling face of his fiancé.

Jellal had just unwrapped himself from around Lucy and stood again when the door to their meeting room flew open.

"Hey kids, sorry bout that. Old man Yajima called, guess gramps and Laxus just left his office." Gildarts happy voice followed

"No worries sir, it is good to see you again." Erza said as she shook his hand followed by Jellal

"Sir? Still all formal I see huh Erza." He said as he laughed and she smiled back.

"Alright, now let's get down to business. Where is the child?" Gildarts asked in a serious voice

"She is behind us sir but I must warn you she is terribly frightened and we promised that we would stay in front of her until she was comfortable." Jellal stated

"I see, that is quite alright. This is not the first case like this that I've had to take so it is no worries for me. May I at least have her name?" He asked the pair

"Her name is Lucy and she is a mute, but she does know sign language." Erza answered

To make Lucy more relaxed in his massive presences Gildarts sat down cross legged and spoke with a surprisingly soft voice, "Lucy honey, my name is Officer Gildarts Clive but you can call me whatever you feel more contented with."

Lucy didn't move, only gripping the backs of Erza and Jellal's shirts tighter.

"I know this may seem like a scary place but I promise that you are in very safe hands." He tried to sooth the small girl.

Lucy's grip loosened some but she still made no move to come out of hiding.

Gildarts scratched his chin trying to think of the best way to convince Lucy to come out of hiding, "Lucy, I know your friends here are very worried about you. That's why they brought you here to see me, I can help them and you. All I need is for you to come out so I can see you ok? You don't even have to sign to me I just want to see you."

Lucy finally let go of the two's shirts and very slowly inched her way to Jellal's left side so she could just barely peek her head out to look at who was talking to her.

Finally seeing at least seeing half of her face peeking around Jellals body he smiled a small and gentle smile at her, "There you are, it's nice to finally see at least some of you. Is there anything else I can do to convince you to fully come out?"

 _ **LUCY**_

 _He doesn't look too scary…he kind of reminds me of big brother only with red hair and has red stubbles on his face, not to mention he's older too. He has that same kind smile that everyone else has that makes me feel at home and safe._

 _I took a silent deep breath in and out before I decided to be brave and stepped out slowly from behind Jellal._

"There we go, see that wasn't hard at all huh?" _he asked me_

 _I shook my head no before I decided to sign to him, 'you remind me of big brother and your smile makes me feel safe like everybody else's does.'_

"And who is your big brother?" _He asked_

' _Big brother Elfman.' I signed answering his question_

"I see, do you like being with Mirajane and Elfman?"

 _I only nodded my head, I really did, and they make me feel like part of their family._

 _Well everyone that I met last night made me feel like I was part of their family and it made me feel so happy._

"They make you feel safe don't they?" _he asked another question_

' _Yes, big sister and big brother make me feel safe. Big sister Erza and big brother Jellal make me feel safe too.' I signed and I heard gasps behind me so I turned around to see both Erza and Jellal with big smiles on their faces and I smiled back. I turned back around to look at Mr. Gildarts again and he was smiling too._

"I'm glad you have found family that makes you happy Lucy, my job is to make sure you stay with them. And I promise that I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure you stay with them forever, how does that sound?" _He asked me and I smiled brightly_

' _You could really do that? I would love to get to live with my big brothers and sisters.' I signed excitedly_

"Anything you want youngster, I only need you to do me one very important favor. I promise that this will help me out tremendously and make it easier for me to make that happen for you. Think you could be brave for me?" _He asked_

 _I lowered my head and thought about it for a minute before I looked back up and signed, 'Will brother and sister be with me?'_

"If you want them too then yes they will be."

' _Ok then.' I simply signed_

 _Mr. Gildarts smiled again before he stood up and asked us all to follow him to a different room._

 _We finally stopped and walked in a room that had a weird looking table with what looked like white clothes. There was a curtain in the back corner of the room that you could pull to hide behind as well._

"Ok Lucy here is what I want you to do for me, I want you and Erza to take those white clothes there that you see on the table and go behind that curtain and change for me. Then when you come back out I'm going to have a friend of mine come in and take some pictures, is that ok?" _He asked_

 _I wasn't really sure about all of this, I know what they want to do. They want to take pictures of all the bruises father left on me but what if he finds out? I could be punished for it…I guess everyone must have sensed my inner turmoil because Erza and Jellal both came up and hugged me and Mr. Gildarts spoke to me._

"Lucy dear I promise that what happens in this room will not have anyway of leaving this station. Nobody else will know unless I let them know ok? You have nothing to fear."

 _I took a deep breath before nodded my head, Erza and Jellal stood up and I grabbed the white clothes before going to stand behind the curtain. Erza had followed behind me to help me undress and I was thankful because I was still too sore and weak to take everything off myself._

 _A few minutes later and I walked out, with what we had found out was a hospital gown, on and stood in front of the weird table thing._

 _A few minutes later a new lady came in and she was wearing all white and she had a camera in her hands, she almost looked like a nurse._

"Lucy this is my friend Serena and she is going to take your picture ok?" _Mr. Gildarts informed me and I could only nod._

 _She started with my face taking three different pictures of both cheeks then the front, then she had Erza help her open up the back of my gown and move my shoulder length hair away and she took several pictures of my back. She then had Erza slide off the gown all together and stand in front of me to block the guy's view of me using the gown and her body as a shield so Miss Serena could take pictures of my neck, chest and stomach. She took that time to take pictures of my arms and legs too, making sure she had my entire body photographed before I was allowed to put the gown back on. Then she had me walk back to a scale that had a ruler in front of it so she could take my weight and height, I guess whatever she found shocked her because she gasped loudly after she measured and weighed me._

"What is it Serena?" _Mr. Gildarts asked the lady when we walked back to the weird table._

"Mr. Clive…sir…this is by far the worst case of malnourishment and abuse that I've ever witnessed in my fifteen years on the force." _Miss Serena answered and I was curious, what did she find out?_

"Explain please ma'am." _Erza asked_

"The amount of damage her body has sustained and the lack of nutrients has caused her weight and height to be that of a five year old, she only weighs forty pounds where as she should weigh around eighty, she is only about three feet five inches where as she should be around five foot…you must seek out medical attention for her at once because this is critical…I am amazed that she can even move to be honest." _Miss Serena finally said and I was shocked._

 _I didn't know what to think to be quite frank, I'm eleven but because of everything father has done to me it has made me look like a five year old…_

 _ **NORMAL**_

To say the group was shock would be a complete understatement…even Gildarts was beyond words because this is by far the worst case of child abuse and endangerment he's ever witnessed in all his years.

Now he is very glad he told Cana that he would meet them.

"I think we can be done for today, I need to call old man Yajima right now. Lucy dear you can get dressed ok, but I want to see you again when you are starting to feel better ok?" Gildarts stated and questioned quickly. He received head nods from the three before he disappeared out the door.

Erza lead a still in shock Lucy back behind the curtain so she could help her dress again. They came back out a little while later and Serena led them to the front doors.

"We would like to see her back here in two months' time to take more pictures. Please see to it that she gets the medical attention she needs so we can show her progress to the judge." Serena informed the pair and they could only nod still being in shock themselves before they walked out of the station and to Erza's car.

The drive to their shop was very quiet, Erza and Jellal just looked to the road in front of them while Lucy kept her head down looking at her clasped hands resting on her lap.

When they did finally pull over Lucy glanced out her small window and actually went wide eyed.

She was now looking at the brand new shop called 'Titania's Sweets Shop' and she could see in the big open window all kinds of sweets and baked goods. She was so busy drooling in the car that she failed to notice when Erza and Jellal stepped out and folded down the seat waiting for her to step out.

They both chuckled at her and that seemed to snap her out of her daze as she looked up at the two above her. Jellal reached down and grabbed her hand helping her out of the car before closing the door and walking the small girl into the shop.

"As promised my dear Lucy you can have that slice of cake or you can just pick out whatever you see in the store, anything you want you just let us know." Erza said with a smile while Jellal slipped away to walk in the back room to call Makarov.

Making sure that Lucy was distracted he shut the door to their office sitting down at their desk and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed Makarov's number and waited while it rang.

" _Jellal? How did it go my boy?"_ Makarov's voice rang out through the phone's speakers

"The meeting itself was a success, we were able to get Lucy to open up to Gildarts. Though they didn't talk about what happened to her she at least acknowledged him." Jellal answered

" _That's great news but why do you sound so off my child? What happened?"_ Makarov questioned

Jellal sighed loudly before he began talking again, "Gramps….Lucy is…Lucy is much much worse than we could of all even imagined…Gildarts had taken us to a separate room so he could have a lady take pictures of Lucy's body head to toe, then she took Lucy's height and weight…" Jellal trailed off trying to rein back his emotions from the shock they all received.

" _What was said Jellal?"_ Makarov said with a soft voice

"She said Lucy has the body of a five year old…she only weighs forty pounds where as she should weigh around eighty…she is only three foot five inches where as she should be around five foot…she said that she was amazed that Lucy could even move and that she was in critical condition. She implored us to seek medical attention for Lucy as soon as physically possible…gramps…what that man did to her…I-I don't even know what to say anymore…" Jellal choked out

He heard Gramps let out a heavy sigh, _"It's alright my boy, I will call Porly right now and set it up so Lucy can start seeing her regularly. Don't worry, I'm sure that Gildarts has already talked to Yajima about their findings. We will not allow Lucy to fall back into the hands of that monster, she is one of us now. Where are you guys now?"_ He questioned

Jellal took a deep breath in before he answered, "We finally made it to the shop, Erza is in front with Lucy but I needed to call you so I stepped back in the office."

" _Alright, you guys take your time there. Spend it with Lucy, I'm sure her hearing about what her father has done to her couldn't have been easy on her mental state."_ Makarov said

"No gramps it wasn't, she was shocked to say the least and completely closed herself off. It wasn't until we pulled up to the shop that she opened up and showed herself again." Jellal answered

" _Then keep her there for now, she is happy. I will inform the other's that her meeting everyone will be a little later. Let her decide when she is ready to leave."_ Makarov stated

"We will do that gramps, see you in a few hours." Jellal finished

" _Good-bye brat."_

"Bye gramps" then he hung up

Jellal just sat in the office with his head in his hands as he went over everything that happened at the station.

"We will get her the help she needs, and we will give her a new home and family. Not to mention putting that bastard behind bars, and that's a promise." He whispered out loud before he collected himself and walked out to spend time with Erza and Lucy.

* * *

 _ **~AN~**_

 _ **AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD**_

 _ **Done…**_

 _ **Wow this was a long chapter but I feel like it has a lot to it really lol**_

 _ **Let me know how I did.**_

 _ **UNTIL NEXT TIME!**_

 _ **Much love from a tkitty! XD**_


	5. Chapter 5

When Jellal finally walked out of the office he couldn't help the smile that found its way to his face.

Lucy was smiling and signing away to Erza while they shared a very large piece of strawberry cheesecake.

"So what do you think Lucy? Are my cakes up to par?" He heard Erza ask

He watched Lucy vigorously nod her head up and down and he couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction alerting both females to his presence.

"Hey girls, mind if I join you?" He asked watching as both Lucy and Erza smiled at him and nodded their heads as he walked up to them.

 _ **FAIRIES CORNER (FC)**_

After Makarov hung up with Jellal he sat in his office going over everything he told him.

He felt truly disgusted and nauseated that someone could harm a child and feel they did nothing wrong.

Not only that but push to the point that the child was in a critical condition…he feared what may happen to Lucy if she does not receive medical attention.

He pulled his phone back out and thought about the two people who could help in a situation like this.

One choice unfortunately was overseas with her family but he still had another he could call.

So he dialed a number placing his phone to his ear and waited for the ringing to be answered.

" _What do you want?"_ came the scowling voice of a woman as soon as his call was answered.

"Porly…I need a favor." He simply said

" _Well out with it then, I don't have all day you know."_ Porly remarked with irritation clear in her voice.

"It's come to my attention that you helped out two of my children with a young girl about a month ago."

" _Yes, I did. The child was severely beaten and starved, I advised those two to not let that girl return from where ever she came."_ She answered

"They weren't able to convince the child to stay with them and she ended up returning home." He replied

" _Then what is the purpose for you calling me now?"_ She growled back

"The child returned after she went missing for full whole month. I myself didn't even know of her existence until last night…Porly…she is in critical condition and if she does not acquire the care she so desperately needs, I fear she may not survive much longer. We need your help." He begged

She was silent for quite some time before finally letting out a loud sigh _, "Stubborn old fool…you know how much I hate dealing with people, my sister was the better one to deal with you…_ humans _…BUT I very clearly remember all the work I did on the child that night and all the older healed injuries I discovered as well. I can truly say that the sight and feel of her small body was enough to make even myself sick. Bring her to my build first thing tomorrow morning and do NOT be late."_ She hung up immediately afterwards and Makarov let out a breath of relief.

"Well at least one of our worries is on the right road to recovery…" Makarov whispered out

There was a knock on his door a moment later followed by Laxus walking in, "Everything alright old man? You've been back here a while." He asked while sitting down in one of the chairs in front of his grandfather's desk.

Makarov sighed before answering, "Yes, I'm fine my boy. I received a call from Jellal and I just called Porly."

"What did Jellal say?" Laxus asked immediately

"The situation is far worse than we could have imagined…though she didn't sign anything about what happened to her, Lucy at least acknowledged Gildarts." He started

"Isn't that a good thing though?" Laxus questioned

"Aye, indeed it is a very good thing but that was not the cause of the distress. Gildarts did as Yajima asked and had pictures taken of Lucy among other recordings of her body as well…from what Jellal told me-" He had to pause, the stream of emotions getting the better of him as he tried to rein them back enough to speak again.

"What gramps? What's wrong with Lucy?!" Laxus demanded, uncharacteristically panicking about the state of the small girl that managed to worm her way into everyone's hearts with just her smile.

"They fear that if Lucy does not get the medical help she desperately needs-"He paused again to take a deep breath, "-Lucy…will not survive much longer…she is in critical condition, her body has been so badly deprived of vital nutrients and with the constant abuse she has the structure of a five year old in weight and height." He finally said and Laxus sucked in a sharp breath.

Gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes, he growled out, "If I EVER get my hands on that son of a bitch I swear to all the gods above that he will be begging me to end his life."

"Well will continue to work with Gildarts and Yajima for the time being, there is not much we can do until we get Lucy to open up. In the meantime we are to take her to see Porly tomorrow to start her on the road to healing her mind and body, we just need to make sure we are there for her and give her the family and comfort she needs right now." Makarov said

"Where are they right now?" Laxus asked

"Erza made good on her promise and took Lucy next door for cake. I told Jellal to keep Lucy there for as long as she wanted to stay…she shut down as soon as she heard about the state of her body and it was only when they pulled up in front of their shop did she brighten back up. She is happy right now and we don't want to take that away if we can help it." Makarov answered

Laxus sighed before he slumped back into the chair pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, "I can't even begin to imagine how she must have felt hearing that and I agree, if she is happy right now then keep her there. You want me to tell everyone to go home?" Laxus asked

"No, I have a feeling that Lucy will still want to come over. Mira and Elfman are here and she will want to see them but let's keep this conversation between us. I do not want everyone to worry more than they already are and I fear this new information may break them more." Makarov answered.

"If that's what you think gra-"Laxus was interrupted by Makarov's phone ringing

Picking up and answering right away, "Hello?"

" _Hello Makie."_ Came the voice of his old friend

"Yajima, how may I help you?" he questioned

" _Actually Makie I'm calling to help you out."_ Yajima answered

"Oh? What happened?" Makarov asked earning a raised eyebrow from Laxus

" _The papers have gone through Makie, I need you, Laxus, and little Miss Lucy to meet me in my office as soon as possible so we can have everything notarized and signed. Not only that but I must see the child for myself, we can go over details when you get here but the sooner the better."_ He responded

"I see, we will be there soon then. Thank you Yaj." Makarov said before hanging up

He looked up at Laxus, "We need to head down to the court house, Yajima already has the papers ready for us but he needs to see Lucy as well."

"Call Jellal then, have them meet us there, Lucy will be more comfortable with someone she trusts with her." Laxus immediately answered surprising Makarov

"You are going soft my boy." He smiled to his gruff grandson

Laxus tsked, "I ain't goin' soft old man, it just doesn't sit well with me knowing that that bastard is still free to hurt her is all." He answered looking away from his grandfather crossing his arms over his chest, very faint pink adorning his cheeks.

Makarov just hummed before dialing Jellal again.

 _ **ERZA**_

Jellal and I were sitting down at one of our tables next to the window, watching Lucy enjoy a strawberry milkshake at the counter when our silence was interrupted by Jellal's phone going off. He looked at the caller ID before excusing himself to the office again.

' _I wonder what's going on now…'_ I thought before looking back to Lucy who was looking at where Jellal disappeared too before looking back at me with a questioning look.

' _Is everything ok?'_ she signed to me

I smiled before standing and walking to the small girl, "I'm sure everything is fine, no need to worry. You just sit back and enjoy your shake, I'm going to go talk to him ok?" I told her

' _Ok'_ she signed before going back to her drink

I smiled once more, putting a hand on her head before walking the same path Jellal took. Opening the door to the office, I stepped in to find Jellal slouched over the desk, one hand was holding the phone to his ear while the other was resting on his forehead, his elbows were sitting on the desk.

He was tense

I closed the door quietly behind me and listened to Jellal talk to whoever was on the other side of that phone call,

"… _..I understand we need to get this done as soon as possible but does it have to be today?...But she's happy right now and I don't want to take that away from her, even you said that if she's happy then to keep her here…..yea…yea bu-….."_ He sighed rather loudly, _"Ok gramps….it's just, she's had enough stress for one day was all I'm saying….yea I know, you wouldn't make her do this if it weren't so important but I'm making this clear now, we are not doing anything else today - she's already breakable enough as is…..yea ok….alright, I'll let Erza know what's going on and we will meet you at the court house in 20….ok….bye gramps."_ Jellal hung up before tossing his phone down on the desk and with his eyes closed he began rubbing his temples.

I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, "Hey what's wrong? What's going on?" I asked

I heard him sigh again before reaching up and grabbing one of my arms around him and leaning back against me, "Gramps and Laxus need us to take Lucy to the court house so Yajima can see her and they can sign the papers giving us temporary legal custody of her. I tried arguing with gramps saying that she's had enough stress for one day and to set it up for tomorrow but gramps said this was extremely important and the sooner we get this done the better….I just don't want to put her through more than she can handle in one day…she's already fragile enough." He explained to me.

I hummed to myself before speaking, "I agree with you but I also agree with gramps, the sooner we get this done and over with the better. Not only that but it will help Lucy in the long run, I do not want to cause her anymore stress today either but if we can make it so she can stay with us then isn't it worth it for just a little more pushing on our end?" I questioned

He spun around and wrapped his arms around my waist and back, pushing his head against my stomach while I ran a hand threw his cerulean locks, "Look how far she's already come by herself in a single day, not only was she able to open up and accept me but also accepted you. And to make everything that much better she didn't shut Gildarts out, granted she didn't sign anything to him but she didn't fear him either."

I stopped again and cupped both his cheeks with my palms - he rose his head to meet my eyes and I ran my thumb along the red tattoo just below his right eye,

"If we can work with her more and get her to open up to everyone else as well do you know how wonderful that would be? She would have a family again and one that loves her unconditionally, I know I already love her and I never want to see her in pain ever again. We just need to do our jobs and continue to give her the strength, courage, help, love and a family that she needs to completely break down her walls." I finished and kissed his forehead.

He took a deep breath in and out before he spoke again, "This is why I love you….Alright, let's go tell little one the plans. Maybe if we tell her we will go to FC immediately afterwards she will be more willing to go." He suggested

"I agree, she's going to want to see Mira and Elfman after everything she's been through today." I answered back before stepping away so he could stand and follow behind me.

 _ **LUCY**_

 _I wonder what's going on…Erza looked worried and Jellal didn't look happy either._

 _I hope I didn't do anything wrong…_

 _I waited for what felt like forever (even though it was only like five minutes) before they walked back out from wherever they went. They were both smiling at me and I couldn't help but smile back then Jellal spoke up,_

"Little one we need to do one more important thing today then I promise you can have the rest of the day to relax. Gramps needs you to meet one of his friends that's helping so you can stay with us but he needs to meet you. Is that ok?" _he asked me_

 _I lowered my head and thought about it, one of gramps' friends is helping so that I can stay with everyone? I guess its ok…._

"Then how bout after we are done with that me and Erza will take you to FC so you can see Mira and Elfman." _Jellal stated_

 _They would take me to see big sis and big brother? And I get to see where they work too?_

' _Will you stay with me?' I signed, I was still nervous to be without them or big brother or big sister_

"Of course we will, we would never leave you alone in a place we know you will be uncomfortable without someone you trust with you." _Erza answered_

 _Making my decision I look back up at them before smiling and nodding my head._

"Atta girl - let's get going then. The sooner we can get this done the sooner we can go to FC." _Jellal said as we walked out of their store._

* * *

 _I wasn't sure where we were going but the building we stopped in front of was huge and it looked like it was completely made of marble. There was a set of large stairs that led up to the doors of the building and I could see gramps and Laxus standing at the very top, it looks like they were waiting for us._

 _Erza and Jellal stepped out and Jellal lowered his seat so I could slip out from the back. He lowered his hand and I grabbed hold as he helped me out of the car. I didn't want to let go again so I just held his hand tight in mine and hid behind him, much like I did before we went into the police station. For some reason though I wasn't as scared as I would normally be going to a new place with strangers._

 _Maybe it's because I'm not alone_

 _I'm not entirely sure though_

 _Strange…._

 _The more I'm around big brother and big sister's family, the more relaxed and comfortable I feel. It's like they all have a special magic within them and they are letting it seep into me, slowly giving me the strength I need to keep living…to keep moving forward…to keep smiling…to just be me for once._

 _And for the first time since I lost mama…I feel like I can be Lucy again_

 _Maybe there really is hope for me in this world…I just had to reach out and find it for myself_

 _Just like mama said…_

 _When we finally made it to the top of the stairs gramps was the one to greet us,_ "hello children thank you for making it here so fast, let's head inside and finish this."

 _I was still hiding behind Erza and Jellal and I still had a death grip on his hand, I was a bit overwhelmed with everything that's happened today but I know I have to be brave._

 _I can do this_

 _They are trying to help me so that I can stay with everyone and have a new family, I can't let them down now._

 _They are trying so hard to keep me safe_

 _So I will do my part and cooperate as best as I can_

 _We walked inside the massive building and went straight to gramps' friends office, I peeked out from my spot behind Jellal just in time to see gramps knocking on a door, it was a few seconds later it opened to another older man who was just as short as gramps was._

"Ah, hello everyone please come in and have a seat we have much to discuss." _He said and I followed when everyone moved inside. I was shocked though because waiting inside the office was Mr. Gildarts, I guess whatever was going to happen here must really be important if he's here too._

 _Erza and Jellal stayed standing for me and I was very grateful because I wasn't ready to face anyone else just yet. I felt Jellal give my hand a reassuring squeeze to let me know they were still there for me and I squeezed back as a thank you._

 _ **NORMAL**_

"Alright let's get down to business, as I told you over the phone Makie the papers indeed went through. After Gildarts here explained their –uh- findings…I put in a rush with all of my officials in getting the papers done today. There are some conditions for this temporary order to stay in place though and that is why I needed to talk to you all face to face." Yajima stated as he looked at everyone either sitting or standing in his office.

"I was well aware that there would be some type of condition for us to keep Lucy, so please Yaj, what do we need to do in order to keep her safe?" Makarov answered

"Well as I am sure you have all discussed already, one condition is you MUST seek out medical attention for the child and we MUST see improvement with her wellbeing both physically and mentally. There will be scheduled visits with Gildarts that you must abide by and either allow him to visit you or you bring her down to the station so he can talk to the child himself. This is just a precautionary on our part that we are actually sending Miss Lucy to a safe environment and not back into what we are trying to escape her from. During these scheduled visits there will be more pictures taken of her body and everything will be recorded for future use." Yajima began to explain

"I understand, I have already contacted Porly and set up a meeting with her to see Lucy first thing tomorrow morning." Makarov informed

"We can set up times later on but I do still want to see her again in about two months for the first appointment. It doesn't matter to me if you bring her back to the station or I meet up with you to see her as long as I see that she is improving then we will have nothing to worry about gramps." Gildarts said

"Aye, it will be done." Makarov answered

"Very good, now second condition and I'm not sure how Miss Lucy will take this but since I am giving you temporary custody of her law states that she will have to live with you Makie." Yajima explained next

Erza and Jellal both felt Lucy tense up

They turned around to look at the now panicking girl gaining the attention of everyone else in the office.

She looked up at them both before signing, _'why can't I stay with big brother and big sister?'_

They looked at each other before turning to look at Makarov who was still looking at Lucy

"Makie? I'm afraid I don't know any sign language, what did she say?" Yajima asked his friend

Laxus decided to answer instead looking back at Yajima, "She asked why she can't stay with Mira and Elfman."

"Oh sweet child," Yajima started before looking at Lucy who was in view due to Erza and Jellal moving so they could comfort her, "Fret not ok, you may have to live with Makie here but you will still be able to see, visit and even stay with Mirajane and Elfman." He explained smiling at the small girl.

She looked at everyone first taking in all their smiling faces before looking to the old judge and nodded her head as an ok.

"Miss Lucy, would it be alright if I ask you a couple questions? You can either nod or shake your head yes or no for answers for right now ok?" Yajima asked

Lucy nodded her head yes but kept her distance and still clutched onto Jellal's hand.

"What a brave girl, now I have to ask do you understand what is going on?" He questioned still looking at the small girl

Lucy nodded

"Do you understand that you are now in the care of my old friend here?" He made a lazy gesture in Makarov's direction

Lucy nodded

"Do you understand that we all are going to work with you to make not only your body better but your mind as well?" he questioned

Again Lucy nodded

"Very good, now I need someone to translate for me what Lucy signs word for word. I should also mention that this meeting is being recorded, video and audio." Yajima said looking at everyone else in the room and they all nodded their understandings.

"I'll translate for you sir." Jellal answered kneeling down beside Lucy and she leaned more into him

Yajima then focused his attention back to the small girl, he knew the next question he was going to ask was a long shot for answers but he still needed to ask it, "Miss Lucy, would you tell us the name of your father, your last name and your schools name?"

He watched as Lucy quickly signed and Jellal spoke, _"I'm not allowed."_

"And why is that?" Yajima questioned

Lucy and Jellal both signed and spoke again, _"father said I wasn't allowed to tell anyone. He said if he ever found out I did he would hurt me and who ever I told."_

Yajima sat back in his chair and thought about what they could do, _'I can't force her to take a DNA test unfortunately without the father's consent even if he's the one causing her harm. Makie only has temporary custody of her to give her a safe place to live and become healthy so he can't sign for her legally and if we were to take it without consent then I would have to throw out the evidence in court…quite the predicament indeed…'_

"Miss Lucy, all of us in this room right now only have your wellbeing in mind and we only want what is best for you. So for now I would like you to work on getting better and we will continue to work on making sure you are able to stay with your new family. Does that sound fair to you?" Yajima asked

Again he watched as Lucy signed and Jellal spoke, _"Mr. Gildarts said that he was going to do everything in his power to make it so I could stay with big brother and big sister. I don't want to leave anyone anymore, I made brother and sister upset the last time I left and didn't come back for a month so I don't want to leave them again. I want to be healthy too, after hearing what Miss Serena said today when she took all those pictures and then weighed me was really upsetting. I don't like being sickly and I don't like it when everyone is sad and upset because of me, it makes my heart hurt."_

"Then you just focus on making Lucy better and having fun with your family. We will work on making sure you get to stay with them." Yajima said smiling to the small girl

Lucy smiled back and simply nodded her understandings, and everyone around her let out a happy sigh of relief.

They couldn't have asked for a better outcome from Lucy.

"Ok Makie, I need your signature on the paper work stating that you understand your role in Miss Lucy's life now. She is to be taken care of with the upmost assurance that she is in capable hands. You must provide for her: food, clothes, shelter, medical attention, and a physiatrist. She must have her own space, meaning she needs her own room in your home with all the proper necessities. She must also receive schooling as well, be it either from home schooling or you have permission to move her to your school whichever option is better for her. You must meet Gildarts on your scheduled dates and pictures, weight and height readings will be taken and recorded for future use and show of progress. The court is entrusting this child into your hands, please take care of her." Yajima finished handing the paper work for Makarov to sign.

"You have my word Yajima." Makarov said as he signed his name making the temporary custody of Lucy finally legal.

* * *

 _ **~AN~**_

 _ **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOKKKKKKK**_

 _ **SO! My main focus of this chapter as you seen was finalizing everything so Lucy could stay with everyone legally.**_

 _ **I want to ask though, what do you guys prefer:**_

 _ **Long chapters like the last one or shorter ones like this one**_

 _ **Let me know what y'all prefer and I'll make it work :)**_

 _ **ALSO!**_

 _ **I have a new idea for a story, I really like the idea of Gray and Lucy being brother and sister and we all know how much I like Lucy being a dragon slayer.**_

 _ **SO!**_

 _ **My idea is Silver and Layla get married and have two kids (aka Gray and Lucy), at the ages of 5 and 6 (gray being the older) Deliora attacks their small village and both of their parents end up getting killed. Deliora is stopped and frozen in his icy prison by none other than the ice dragon: Ur.**_

 _ **Ur takes in both Gray and Lucy as her own and turns them both into ice dragons and teaches them her magic.**_

 _ **By turning them into dragons I mean they will actually look more dragon than human, they will have scales, horns and tails apparent at all times.**_

 _ **The same will go for all the other dragon children.**_

 _ **I'm planning on it not only being Nalu but also Gruvia**_

 _ **ANNNNNNNNYWAYS!**_

 _ **Let me know what you thought about the new chapter and toss me your opinions about the new story I thought of! XD**_

 _ **UNTIL NEXT TIME!**_

 _ **MUCH LOVE FROM A TKITTY!**_


	6. Chapter 6

"How are you feeling today Miss Lucy?"

' _Really good actually, I passed all my classes with A's making me officially a senior now, my birthday was a few days ago, Mira and gramps finally said it was ok for me to officially get the fairy tattoo everyone else has. That was awesome, Levy, Juvia and Gajeel all when with me and had theirs done at the same time I did.'_ Lucy flashed her right hand that had a new blue fairy proudly resting on top, _'To top everything off Gajeel and I are due to play at FC tonight!'_ she started bouncing in her seat clearly showing just how excited she really was.

"That is excellent Miss Lucy but remember what we've talked about, you need to use your words not your hands."

A sigh was heard throughout the small room,

"…I-I know…I-it's just really hard…t-to break habit."

"I understand Miss Lucy but that is what we have been working on for the past 5 years, to help you overcome your fears and open up your mind again."

"I-I know…I still have no idea how I'm ever going to repay everyone for their kindness they've shown me. My life changed the moment Mira and Elfman watched me collapse that night but I wouldn't have asked for anything better than the family they were able to give me."

"I understand Miss Lucy, you truly have a wonderful family that have taken very good care of you."

A moment of silence fell upon them and all that was heard was papers being shuffled and the scratches of a pen writing.

"Well Miss Lucy, it's that time again."

Another breathy sigh was heard.

' _I know'_

"Can you give us the last piece of the puzzle we need?"

A small whimper was heard and someone shuffling around in their seat,

' _I can't…he will know…he will hurt me again…'_

"Miss Lucy…you know your family will protect you. You know they will never let anything happen to you, I understand you are still afraid of your father but without your help we can't put him away for the crimes he committed against you."

' _I know'_

"Miss Lucy, it has been 5 years since you last seen him and he never once tried to find you this entire time. Don't you think it's time to put the awful past behind you and move on with everyone? If not for you then why not do it for them? They have bent over backwards to give you the best possible life you could ever ask for and yet they still fear for you…as long as your father is allowed to walk free they will worry about you. Just think about it ok?"

"I-I will…"

"Why don't we call it for today, you did well Miss Lucy. Just remember to use your words more often and I expect to see you again next week."

"Ok, thank you Capricorn."

"Anytime Miss Lucy, now go on, get out of here. I'm sure whoever is picking you up today is starting to wonder where you are."

"Bye Cap!"

He watched the small girl run out of his office waving to him as she went before he finally sighed and sat back in his chair rubbing his forehead, "She has come a very long way from the shy, scared girl that was first brought to me. If we can only get over this last hurdle and undo the damage that was done to her mind she will finally be able to fully heal."

He turned to look out his office window in time to see Lucy riding on the back of the still very large Elfman, she was laughing and pointing in front of them as Elfman threw his head back laughing and walking away from the therapists' office, "I think this might be the one to finally open Miss Lucy up, I know she's ready. She's just scared." With that Capricorn shook his head smiling slightly while he prepared himself for his next patient.

* * *

Lucy sighed as she rested her chin in the palm of one hand, she was currently sitting at the bar in FC bored out of her mind. Levy was stuck working her part time job at the library, Juvia was working her part time job at the swimming pool and Gajeel wasn't supposed to show up till later that day so they could jam out on stage together. Natsu and Gray couldn't help her either, being such a huge difference in time zones they were probably still sleeping. She absolutely loves summer but not when she has nothing to do…

Natsu, Gray and Lucy have become the best of friends over the years and call and text each other daily. It was strange how they started talking to begin with, Mira was chatting with them one evening when Lucy walked in and shouted out that she was home. That earned Mira a bunch of questions asking why someone else was calling her big sis, Natsu even commented to not have weirdos coming into her house that apparently it wasn't safe if Elfman wasn't there. After that the trio were as inseparable as they could be with a long distance friendship, texting, calling, sending pictures and video chatting whenever they could and it's been like this for 3 years. Though she's made sure that the boys knew nothing of her past and she plans to keep it that way -as cruel as it may sound- there is no need for them to know.

Lucy groaned out loud earning her the undivided attention of Mira, "What's the matter Lucy? You look a little down in the dumps." Mira asked, her brows furrowing with slight worry.

Lucy looked up to the older woman, _'it's nothing big sis, I'm just bored out of my mind. Everyone is either busy working, sleeping or not supposed to be here for a few more hours.'_ She pouted as she signed her answer.

Mira raised a single eyebrow, "Lucy," she lightly scolded the teen, "remember what Capricorn said, use your words not your hands."

Lucy looked down at her lap twiddling her fingers together, "I-I'm sorry big sis, I-I told Cap it was hard for me to break habit." Lucy squeaked out an answer

Mira simply giggled behind her hand, "You're all right Lucy, you've taken great strides over the years and have pushed yourself to do your very best. We just don't want to see you slip and fall behind rather than move forward."

Lucy offered a small smile to the woman, "I know big sis." She turned her body around to look at everyone that was in the bar, Cana, Macao and Wakaba were sitting at their usual table drinking away. Bisca and Alzack were busy playing with little Asuka, Reedus was working on his latest drawings for his tattoo shop. Freed and Bickslow were chatting at their usual table and Kinana was busy running drinks and food for Mira.

Lucy turned back to look at the older woman again, "Is Erza working today?"

Mira thought about it for a second, "she might be actually and I think she has little Ruby with her today."

Lucy's face split into an excited grin, "REALLY!? I'm gonna head over then if that's ok with you Mira."

"Of course Lucy, just please be careful and make sure your back for your show tonight. We are expecting a full house, gramps, Laxus, Elf and Jellal have been bragging about you and Gajeel all over town the past week." Mira giggled when Lucy's face exploded with an embarrassed blush.

' _Did they really have to tell the whole town?'_ Lucy signed as she loudly sighed

Mira laughed, "Don't think about it too much Lucy, you'll do just fine. Beside think of this as practice for when you two do the big welcome home concert for Natsu and Gray. Remember they are finally coming back home for good next month."

"OH YEA! I forgot about that, I'll finally get to meet my two best friends in person! I'm really excited!" Lucy had stood up and was bouncing up and down very excitedly.

Mira laughed again while she shook her head, "Go on Lucy, if you still want to see little Ruby then you better head over now."

"Alright Mira! I'll see you in a few hours!" Lucy yelled as she took off for the front door

"BE CAREFUL PLEASE!" Mira shouted as Lucy was running out the door

Mira sighed happily just as Cana took a seat on one of the stools, "What's up Mira? What's with the goofy smile?" Cana questioned with raised brow

"It's nothing Cana, I'm just so happy that Lucy is finally coming out of her shell and living the life she's always deserved." Mira answered sliding the woman a new ale.

Cana slightly moaned as the sweet but bitter taste of alcohol slid down her throat, "Aye, your right about that. I'm glad little one is doing so well and working hard. She's come a long way from that shy, scared, and horribly tiny little girl that would only sign to us to an unbelievably beautiful, smart and talented young woman."

Mira nodded her head, "Yes, I'm just so glad she's healthy out of all things. Though gramps was right, she will unfortunately be short for the rest of her life but at 5 foot 5 inches tall, it's a good height for a lady."

Cana bellowed out a loud laugh, "Who needs height when you've got assets like she does!?" Cana made a crude gesture with her hands to her own chest, "Man she filled out nicely! Little one's got curves for daaaaays!" Cana joked

"Oh my…" Mira giggled out behind her hand

"I will have to say though, it's hilarious to watch the boys being all over protective and brotherly towards her. Remember that one kid –James or whatever- came in and confessed his undying love to Lucy? I swear I've never seen them move so fast the entire time I've known them!" Cana was doubled over clutching her stomach, tears rolled down her cheeks as she cackled loudly, "Elfman came FLYING over yelling how he wasn't MAN enough for his little one, Jellal said he wasn't worthy of Lucy's beauty and the glares Laxus and Gajeel gave him! I swore the kid shit himself!" Cana fell off the barstool and was rolling around on the ground in a painful heap of laughter.

Mira was laughing right along with her, "Yes, but do you remember how upset Lucy was with them. She scolded all of them and made them look like sad puppies."

Cana slowly gathered herself back on the barstool as she gasped for air, "That was the best day ever and I'm so glad Lucy had her camera set up to take auto-pics of the bar that day." Cana sighed happily as she looked to the framed picture -behind the bar- of Lucy with one hand on her hip and the other pointing to the table full with the men she was scolding all with their heads down in defeat of the short girl.

Mira silently agreed with her as she looked all around their club, the walls were now riddled with picture upon picture of family gatherings and fun times and each and every one was taken by Lucy.

"She really is talented huh?" Mira absentmindedly asked

"Aye." Cana couldn't help but agree, "That she is."

 _ **~LUCY~**_

 _As soon as I ran out of FC I crossed the road to Erza's shop, peeking in I seen Erza standing behind the counter helping a few customers while she was holding Ruby. Deciding she probably needed some help I walked right in hearing the familiar ding dong of the bell letting them know people walked in. Erza looked up at me and smiled,_ "LUCY! Thank the gods, could you take Ruby for me so I can finish up with these nice folks?"

 _I smiled back and nodded quickly running to her side to pick up her cute little 7 month old daughter. She had beautiful purple hair, a perfect mix of Erza's bright scarlet hair and Jellal's cerulean hair, and big beautiful brown eyes, just like Erza's. I walked us back to the office and gently set her down in her swing making sure she was buckled in and start it up letting her gently rock back and forth, I grabbed my acoustic guitar from behind Jellals desk and sat down in front of Ruby cross legged._

"What do you say Ruby? Want me to play your favorite song?"

 _She looked up at me and gave me the biggest heart melting smile and I couldn't help but give her anything she wanted. I slowly started playing 'Silent Lucidity' by 'Queensryche' while I sang it in my head._

Hush now don't you cry

Wipe away the tear drop from your eye

You're lying safe in bed

It was all a bad dream

Spinning in your head

Your mind tricked you to feel the pain

Of someone close to you leaving the game of life

So here it is, another chance

Wide away you face the day

Your dream is over…or has it just begun?

 _Ruby is smiling up at me as her eyes slowly start to droop, her swing still gently rocking her to sleep. I continue to play while still singing the song in my head._

There's a place I like to hide

A doorway that I run through in the night

Relax child you were there

But only didn't realize and you were scared

It's a place where you will learn

To face your fears, retrace the years

And ride the whims of your mind

Commanding in another world

Suddenly you hear and see

This magic new dimension

 _She's still smiling at me but at this point she's fighting to stay awake._

I~ will be watching over you

I~ am gonna help you see it through

I~ will protect you in the night

I~ am smiling next to you, in Silent Lucidity

 _I didn't get to finish the whole song this time before she softly drifted off to dream land, a cute little smile still on her lips. I continue to play just to make sure she stays asleep not even realizing that another person joined in on my one person concert._

"It's always amazing how fast you can get her to go to sleep playing her favorite song."

 _I was startled out of my thoughts and abruptly halted my fingers from plucking the strings on my guitar at the sound of Erza's voice breaking through. I turned to look at her leaning on the door frame to the office, she put both of her hands up and smiled at me,_ "sorry, didn't mean to startle you but I've been standing here for a while."

 _I smiled back at her, 'no worries, I was just so lost in the song that I kinda tuned out everything else' I sheepishly rubbed the back of my head after I finished signing, I felt the slight warming as light blush coated my cheeks._

 _I heard Erza chuckle some,_ "no big deal Lucy, Ruby has really taken a liking to you and she couldn't ask for a better aunt."

 _I looked at her with wide eyes before a bright grin ripped through my face, 'I love being around her, I told Mira I was gonna hang out here until me and Gajeel are supposed to be back.'_

"That's right! Gramps if finally letting you two play a small show tonight isn't he?" _Erza beamed me a proud smile and I could help but blush again as a shy smile ghosted my lips._

' _Aye, I'm really excited but I'm also super nervous. I really don't want to mess up in front of everyone.'_

 _I slowly stood up making sure my movements were quiet so I didn't wake the sleeping Ruby, I placed my guitar back behind Jellals desk and followed Erza out of the office watching as she carefully closed the door behind us._

"You have nothing to be nervous about Lucy, you and Gajeel have been practicing for months now. You are more than ready for this, besides if you get too scared just picture your audience as a bunch of Ruby's happily smiling at you as you play for her and only her."

 _I thought over Erza's idea and it actually made me relax a lot, I could do this. We are playing for our family after all, anyone else who comes didn't matter as long as I had my family._

 _I sighed softly,_ "Your right big sis, I'm still very nervous but I know we can do this and I know you and everyone else will be proud of us even if we somehow mess up. I know it won't matter in your eyes as long as we are having fun and doing something we love."

"Atta girl. Why don't we get you your favorite shake and people watch for a while?" _Erza asked knowing full and well that I would agree without a second thought. So I grinned and nodding my head vigorously, she chuckled at me before leaving for the small kitchen to make my shake while I sat at our table._

 _I loved sitting with her in front of their big window and giggle at the silly people that walk by. This was something that only me and Erza ever did and I wouldn't want anything to change about our special bond. Just like I wouldn't want my bonds with everyone else to change either, they are all so special and precious to me, even my strange bond with my two favorite dorks overseas._

 _I wouldn't change a single thing._

 _I really couldn't have asked for a better outcome in my life and maybe Cap was right…maybe it's finally time for me to move on from my dark past and live in the future with them. I've changed so much over the past 5 years, I'm no longer the scared shy little girl I once was and thanks to my new family I finally have the confidence that they always knew I had._

 _It's time for me to let go._

 _I'm finally ready._

 _ **~NORMAL~**_

After people watching with Erza and playing with Ruby when she awoke from her nap for a few hours, Lucy, Erza and Ruby made their way back to FC. Erza closed down her shop for the day to make sure she didn't miss Lucy and Gajeel's performance.

Lucy was on pins and needles, her nervousness was at an all-time high as the minutes continued to count down to the time for her and her jam partner to take the stage and rock the club of excited family members and strangers. The two were planning on playing everything from 80's hair and rock bands to new rock, no singing was to be involved but that was ok for everyone in the horde, they were there simply to jam, dance and drink the night away without a care in the world.

It did nothing to ease Lucy's worries though…which is why she is freaking out over the phone to her two best friends through a three way call, "YOU GUYS! I don't think I can do this…what if I screw up? What if one of my strings break in the middle of a song? What if I trip and fall flat on my face the moment we walk out on stage? WHAT IF I COMPLETELY FORGET HOW TO PLAY!? Oh gods…I need to hide in a closet somewhere and never come out again…THAT'S IT! From now on I'm gonna be a hermit and live in the mountains som-"

" _LUCY!"_ the unison voices of Gray and Natsu shouted at the panicking girl over her phone's speakers

" _Holy shit calm the fuck down. There's nothing to be worried about you'll do just fine."_ Gray's voice rang out slightly calming her.

" _Yea Luce, you're freakin' out over nothing. You've played all these songs before and even played them for the two of us when we video chatted that one time remember? Why are you stressin' this now?"_ Natsu's voice was next as he questioned her

"I'm just so nervous guys, I really don't want to disappoint our family." Lucy said barely above a whisper

" _Don't think about it so much Lucy, you're an AMAZING guitarist, you and that metal headed freak."_ Lucy giggled softly at Gray's description of Gajeel, _"beside there's no way in hell you can say you're not, that be like sayin' fire ass doesn't like to eat."_

" _OI! YOU WANNA GO FROSTY THE SNOW DICK!"_

" _YEA AS A MATTER OF FACT I DO PERVERTED FIRE BREATHER!"_

" _I'M NOT PERVERTED! IF ANYONE HERE IS PERVERTED IT'S YOUR STRIPPING ASS!"_

Lucy heavily sighed, this isn't the first time the two have picked a fight with her on the phone, or on video chat, hell they even sent her pictures of them fighting each other one day.

Rolling her eyes she decided it was high time to break them up, "You know you both are perverted right? Seriously do either of you know the phrase 'keep it in your pants'? You both are –without a doubt- the very definition of what a whore is."

" _OI!"_ She heard them both shout back at her making her loudly laugh.

" _We take offence to that, we are NOT whores. We just highly enjoy the company of very fine ladies is all."_ Gray tried to miserably argue against her accusations.

Lucy scoffed, "Yea right, you two aren't whores and big brother Elf has never called me little one." She fired right back hearing them both chuckle over the phone.

" _Alright alright fine, you win. But just think in a month's time you'll finally get to see these amazing bodies of ours and I would bet money you'll jump one of us Luce."_ Natsu playfully teased her.

Lucy blushed several shades of bright red, she was sure she matched Erza's hair at this point. Truth be told she actually had a crush on not one but BOTH of her best friends, I mean who wouldn't?! They were both beyond hot with bodies that would make Greek gods look average, it's no wonder they had ladies falling all over them constantly. If she was completely honest with herself –which she won't be- she's always felt jealous of the many women that have had the pleasure of seeing those two in person, course it never helps when they like to brag about their many endeavors under the sheets every time they talk, hell she's even SEEN some of the women they acquire –still laying very much naked in their beds- when they randomly decide to video chat with her.

Calming the raging inferno on her cheeks she rolled her eyes and groaned, "You two are a pain in my ass I swear…"

She heard them both laugh, _"Aye, but that's why you love us so much. We got you to play and laugh and calmed you down at the same time."_ Gray stated

"Yea yea yea." She playfully agreed, "I wouldn't have been able to calm down if it weren't for you dorks."

" _Luuuuce, don't be mean."_ She could practically see Natsu's adorable pouting face which caused her to giggle.

She was interrupted of her giggling but the gruff voice of her brother/guitar mate Gajeel, "OI! LB, it's almost time! Come on so we can finish setting up!" he shouted at her from across the back stage.

"Ok Gaj! Be there in a sec!" she shouted back

" _What's LB mean?"_ She heard Natsu's voice suddenly question

" _Seriously Natsu?! She's told you like a dozen times what that stands for."_ Gray tsked

" _Not my fault I can't remember some weird ass nickname screw for brains gave Luce."_ Natsu tsked right back.

Lucy sighed using her free hand to rub her temple, "Natsu for the last time it stands for little bunny. I've got to go though, we need to finish setting up the stage and tune our guitars before we are supposed to go on. Are you two still gonna have Mira log video chat so you can watch us?" Lucy questioned hoping they would say yes.

" _Of course."_ She heard them reply in unison, _"We wouldn't miss your big day for the world."_ Gray said

" _You got this Luce, get out there and rock that stage! We will be cheering from the crowd."_ Natsu's cheerful voice rang out

Lucy chuckled, "Alright alright. Wish me luck guys, love ya!" She hung up and put her phone in the back pocket of her jeans and made her way to where Gajeel was sitting tuning his guitar.

"I don't see what's so special about those two playboys when you got me right here LB." Gajeel joked gesturing to himself

Lucy simply rolled her eyes while taking a seat next to the man grabbing her own guitar, "You say that every time Gaj, and no I don't have you, you belong to a cute little bluenette." Lucy teased highly enjoying the bright blush that coated his cheeks.

Gajeel growled playfully and ruffled her hair, "Whatever LB, you ready to do this?"

Lucy pouted slightly and fixed her now messy hair before she sighed, "As ready as I'll ever be I suppose."

"You can do this, don't think about all the people out there, just picture us sittin' in my garage playin' for shrimp and Juvs like we always do." He stated knowing it would help her relax more.

Lucy smiled at him, "Yea, you're right. I can do this." She stated putting on a determined face.

Gajeel chuckled a bit before wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "Don't forget you're not going out there alone. I'll be right there with you the entire time."

Lucy wrapped her arms around his waist giving him a side hug, "Thank you Gaj."

"Anything for you LB."

The two finished prepping their instruments and were chatting with each other to kill time when they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat. They both turned to face where the sound came from and found Makarov standing there.

"Hello kids, are you ready for your big night?" he questioned the two

Lucy stood up and ran to the short elder, pulling him in for a hug, "Hi grandpa! And yea we are we're just waiting till we are supposed to go out."

Makarov chuckled before returning her hug, "that is wonderful child, we are all looking forward to finally hearing your amazing talents."

Lucy pulled away giving the older man a bright smile, "we won't let you down grandpa!"

"You could never let us down no matter what you do Lucy. We will always be proud of you." Makarov beamed a proud smile to the youngster.

Lucy had to swallow back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes before smiling, "Thank you grandpa."

Makarov smiled and nodded, turning around to head back to the bar to announce the two on stage when Lucy caught his attention one more time.

He turned back giving the girl a confused look and before he had a chance to ask her what she needed she started signing, _'Grandpa, I need to talk to you after our show in private if that would be ok.'_

Deciding to not voice his question he signed back, _'is everything alright my dear?'_

' _Aye, everything is perfect.'_ But she didn't sign any more than that

' _Alright, meet me in my office after the show and we can talk.'_ He signed his answer

Lucy simply nodded her head and smiled one more time before going back to Gajeel to wait till they were called out.

Makarov walked out on stage, clearing his throat once more before his booming voice rang all throughout the club, "WELCOME HONORED GUESTS AND BRATS! TONIGHT WE HAVE A SPECIAL SHOW PLANNED OUT JUST FOR YOU! TWO OF MY VERY SPECIAL AND TALENTED CHILDREN HAVE PLANNED OUT AND PRACTICED A NIGHT FULL OF MUSIC! SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADIEU I PRESENT TO YOU LUCY AND GAJEEL! LET US REJOICE, DRINK AND PARTY!" Makarov ended his announcement of the two and cheers and claps were heard from every single person crowding around the stage only to become even louder when the two teens walked out on stage, guitars in hand.

Lucy looked to the crowd feeling slightly intimidated by the sheer amount of people that showed up, it was clear that they were WAY above capacity for the bar/club. She had started to slightly panic until she looked to the group that was directly front and center of the stage, there cheering their hearts out for the two of them were Levy, Juvia, Mira –who was also holding a laptop with the two grinning and cheering faces of her favorite boys-, Elfman, Jellal, Erza and Ruby, Laxus, Cana and surprisingly Gildarts.

The rest of their family chose to stay back from the stage but it didn't stop them from cheering just as loud. She quickly looked to the bar seeing gramps sitting there with a mug in one hand and tossing her a thumbs up with the other a big grin on his wrinkled face, she lost all the fear and all the nervousness she had before coming on stage, she smiled brightly and eagerly waved to her family before getting into position beside Gajeel.

She looked to her brother beside her and they nodded to each other before slipping into their own world, moving their fingers with surprising grace, feeling the vibrations of their notes all the way into their souls, tuning out all sounds besides the ones they were making, hearing the constant tapping in their minds to make sure they didn't miss a single note while they played song after song after song all throughout the night.

Lucy could feel the pain from chewing on her bottom lip for so many hours just to keep herself focused on the notes she's was producing, she and Gajeel were running all over the stage bouncing and laughing as they got the crowd hyped up and dancing to everything they played. They were experiencing just a phenomenal high they were afraid of falling back down to Earth, they wouldn't change anything at all though, feeling their lungs desperate for air as they panted for a breath, feeling their leg muscles burn from the constant jumping and moving all over the stage, feeling the salty wetness of their sweat as it trickled down over their exhausted bodies yet they refused to stop, they were not ready to join everyone back on the ground just yet. And if the constant hooting and hollering was anything to go by, their newly made fans didn't want them to stop anytime soon either. They played everything, deciding to have the oldies first and then towards the ending of their show they changed it up a bit and started playing newer rock songs. Everyone continued to cheer and clap and some even started singing along to them playing if they knew the song.

After 3 hours of constant non-stop playing they decided that it was time to end their show, so with that they decided to play 'A Mercurian Summer' by 'Angel Vivaldi' knowing full and well that their crowd would share the same high they were experiencing with this last song.

Lucy -finally showing everyone why Gajeel called her LB- took control of the main chorus as she started the final song feeling her fingers sprint along the strings of her guitar, she was quickly followed by Gajeel who took control of the lower and slower tempo making sure their timing was perfect and in sync. Gajeel calls her little bunny because of him watching her small fingers glide effortlessly over the string with much faster songs where as he could never get his big sausage fingers to move that quick, in these moments is when she reminds him of a quick little bunny so the nickname just stuck.

Lucy was so busy concentrating on playing that when she looked out to the crowd again she almost missed a note seeing everyone's awe struck faces. The only other people –besides Gajeel- who knew she could play this fast was Levy and Juvia only because they were always with the two while they practiced. She knew even Natsu and Gray were giving her the same awe struck faces that everyone else had and she had a surge of pride shoot through her entire body. Now everyone understood how important playing meant to her, now they understood why she practiced every single day because in this one moment Lucy showed everyone not only her heart but her mother's heart as well knowing full and well that her mother would be beyond proud of her if the smiling and cheering faces of her family were anything to go by.

When they finally ended their last song the cheers and applauds were deafening, they were so loud in fact that they could clearly feel the building vibrate from the blunt force of everyone's chaotic adrenalin high.

They did their jobs well

They were both panting as they looked at each other and grinned hugely before Gajeel grabbed her hand and they both bowed and straightened back up waving to everyone as they left the stage.

The two were instantly tackled by their family members the moment they stepped back stage, "OH MY GODS YOU GUYS! THAT WAS AMAZING!" Levy shouted still clearly feeling her high

"You guys were awesome up there all that practice in Gajeel's garage showed tonight!" Juvia beamed at them

"Aww, thanks you guys." Lucy shyly said rubbing the back of her head, she was still shaking like a leaf from all the adrenalin pumping through her veins when everyone came to congratulate them.

"You killed that last song LB! Still don't understand how your fingers can move that fast." Gajeel chuckled out before plopping an arm down on Levy's head.

Lucy giggled and thanked him before she squeaked in surprise feeling her body being lifted up, she calmed down the minute she was placed on the shoulder of her big brother Elf, "THAT WAS MANLY LITTLE ONE!" he bellowed out before walking to out to the bar to show off his baby sister to the world.

"Thanks big bro! It was a whole lot of fun." Lucy beamed at everyone around them

Elfman decided to do a few laps around the club with Lucy safely upon his shoulders, she high fived everyone she walked past grinning from ear to ear as they went. He finally let her down when they made it back around to the bar, Makarov was still sitting there grinning like a mad man at his children. He knew Lucy would be busy with everyone crowding around the two so their little talk could wait a bit longer.

Jellal, Erza and Ruby were next to walk up to the excited girl, "Lucy we can't even tell you how unbelievably proud we are right now. You were absolutely amazing." Jellal commented pulling the short girl in for a hug

Lucy instantly returned the hug, "Thank you big brother." She mumbled into his chest earning her a chuckle from the man. When he finally released her she turned to look at Erza who was holding Ruby in one arm, she used her free arm to pull Lucy into a one arm hug, "Jellal is right, you were amazing up there. The energy you two put out showed in the crowd, everyone was up jumping and dancing right along with you two. We couldn't be more proud of you Lucy."

Lucy beamed the older woman a bright smile, "Thanks big sis." She then turned her attention to the small girl in her arms, "What did you think Ruby? Did you like the show?" Lucy cooed at her earning her an adorable laugh from the baby which melted Lucy's heart instantly. She planted a gentle kiss to the baby's forehead and gently pinched her pudgy cheeks before Erza and Jellal said their goodbyes to head home.

"That was some show you put on kid."

Lucy whipped around to where the voice came from excitedly knowing just who it was, "UNCLE GILDARTS!" Lucy shouted before running to the older man and leaping into his out stretched arms.

"What are you doing back so soon? I thought you were supposed to be back till next week?" Lucy questioned

Gildarts raised an eyebrow before chuckling at the small girl currently squeezing the life out of him, "As if I'd miss your big day, who do you take me for Lucy?" Gildarts feigned hurt dramatically placing a hand over his heart.

Lucy laughed before lightly smacking his arm, "You know what I mean you big jerk. Thank you for coming though, I was so nervous going up there."

"Well you couldn't tell one bit, you owned that stage and you owned that crowd. I'm very proud of you." He gave the girl a gentle smile which she returned.

"Now, if you'll excuse me. This dad needs to find a certain daughter of his." Gildarts stated with a playful gleam in his eyes causing Lucy to giggle before she released her hold on him. He patted her head before turning to maneuver his way through the mass to find Cana.

Lucy was watching Gildarts walk away when a massive arm found a home on top of her head, "You did good tonight kid."

Lucy raised her head slightly to meet the intimidating gaze of Laxus, flashing him a grin she raised her fist up and bumped it with his, "Thanks big brother." Laxus smirked at her before nodding his head, moving his arm off her he walked back to his table where Bickslow, Freed, Evergreen and Elfman were sitting.

Lucy finally made her way back to the bar and plopped herself down on one of the free stools, FC was crowded tonight from her and Gajeel's mini concert and now everyone was drinking and dancing to the music that was now playing from the speakers. Lucy watched as Mira finally made her way through the throng of people and walked behind bar placing the laptop down right in front of Lucy who in turned flashed a bright smile at the grinning males on the screen but chose to ignore them for a moment so she could talk to Mira.

"Lucy, you were absolutely amazing up there. We are so proud of you and all your hard work." Mira said with happy tears in her eyes while she placed a gentle hand on Lucy's cheek.

"Please don't cry big sis, cuz if you start to cry then I'll start to cry and it would just be a mess." Lucy chuckled out and Mira joined her

" _You were amazing Luce! I can't believe how much you've improved over the last couple of months! And how come we've never heard you play that song before?! I thought we were your best friends"_ Natsu suddenly praised before he started pouting

Lucy flashed Mira an apologetic look only for Mira to smile it waved off, she needed to help behind the bar anyways with it being so crowded. Lucy watched as the she began to serve up drinks before she turned her attention back to the laptop to see both males frowning and pouting, Lucy had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at them. They were too cute for their own good sometimes.

" _No kiddin' Lucy, and here you were all worried and freakin' out for nothin'. I have to agree with flame brain though, how come we never seen you play like that before?"_ Gray said from his spot next to Natsu, he acted hurt but Lucy could see the playfulness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry guys but Gajeel and I wanted to keep it a secret until tonight and surprise everyone with how hard we've been working on this." Lucy answered

"Yea, so quit buggin' her bout it already playboys!" Lucy was startled by Gajeels gruff voice right next to her ear

She heard both Natsu and Gray scoff, _"Whatever metal head, still though we should have at least known about it before everyone else."_ Gray pouted

Gajeel tsked before a sly smirk found its way to his face, "Ya know, Levy and Juvia actually heard and seen it before anyone." His smirk only grew at the shocked and wide eyed faces on the screen.

" _WHAT?!"_ They shouted in unison causing Lucy to cringe at the screeching sound

Gajeel bellowed out a loud laugh before giving the boys the 'one finger salute' and sauntered off to find his blue haired shrimp.

" _LUCY! THE HELL?!"_ Gray yelled

Lucy cringed again, "I'M SORRY!" she yelled back, "They came to see us when we were practicing the song in Gajeel's garage. They weren't meant to see or hear it, it just sort of happened." Quickly stammering out the explanation while poking her index fingers together.

" _FINE! You are forgiven ONLY if you do something for us when we make it back home."_ Natsu compromised smirking when Gray realized what he was going to ask of her only to have him smirk right along with him.

Lucy cocked an eyebrow confusion clearly written all over her face, "Ooooook? What do you guys want?"

" _Two things actually."_ Gray interjected before Natsu answered, _"Aye two things, number one you have to play us that song in person and with only the 3 of us."_

Lucy could do that no problem though they would see it either way for their welcome home party but she wasn't about to ruin the surprise for them, "Ok, and what's the second thing?"

She suddenly became very nervous when both of their faces split into wolfish grins, "U-um…g-guys?" she shuddered out

" _You have to give both of us one kiss to make up for your BEST FRIENDS not getting to see you play first."_ Gray answered emphasizing the best friends part, their grins only widened when they took in her wide eyes, gaping mouth and bright red cheeks.

"W-w-what?!" She squeak yelled

Mira grinned having overheard their conversation, "Oh my." She giggled when Lucy redden even more.

"MIRA!" Lucy yelled out feeling ganged up on

The older woman winked at the flushed girl, "You have my stamp of approval Lucy!"

"MIRA!" Lucy shouted once again, hearing the laughing of the boys only made her face burn even more. She was sure she would pass out at any moment from the amount of blood rushing to her face.

"My my, how fast kids grow these days." Makarov joined in on the teasing, laughing when Lucy could only bury her head into her hands and groan out loud. She lifted her head back up to glare at the two idiot males on the screen.

" _So, what's your answer Lucy? Oh and by the way I should mention that if we don't get both things we have requested you will be punished."_ The grin that Natsu gave afterwards sent a jolt of electricity straight down her spine causing her to shiver involuntarily at the promise of whatever these two could conjure up for as 'punishment'.

Lucy gulped, her throat suddenly felt like a desert in the middle of summer and she was in desperate need of a glass of water, "F-f-fine…" she stuttered, "B-BUT ONLY on the cheek! Nothing more, got it?" she glared harder at them -trying to finalize her demand- even though her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest at any given moment.

She nearly caved when she seen and heard them whine and pout, _"Aww man…"_ Natsu disappointedly sighed out. _"No kidding…"_ Gray pouted

Lucy giggle, "You guys are hopeless."

Lucy chatted with the boys a bit longer enduring their constant teasing and bickering back and forth before she heard a loud voice yell through the speakers of the computer, _"NATSU! GRAY! GET YOUR LAZY ASSES DOWN HERE AND HELP US PACK!"_

" _Aww man…I wanted to talk to Luce some more."_ Natsu pouted

" _Sorry Lucy, we have to go. Igneel's yelling for us to help with the packing."_ Gray explained

"No biggie guys, I've still got this amazing party to enjoy anyways." Lucy winked at them then burst out laughing at their jealous faces before they logged off.

Finally having a moment to herself Lucy looked to where Makarov was still seated at gaining his attentions when he looked over at her, _'could we go talk now grandpa?'_ Lucy signed with a pleading look in her eyes. Makarov nodded before hopping of his stool and gesturing for her to follow, he lead them back to his office opening the door and allowed her to walk in first following behind and closing the door before he walked to his desk to sit in his chair.

"Alright my dear, please tell me what's on your mind." He calmly asked, he has been wondering and slightly worried about what she has to say since she brought it up.

"I-it's nothing bad, I promise grandpa." Lucy attempted to reassure the wary older male.

Lucy started to shake feeling her nerves get the best of her once again but this time she wouldn't panic, this time she would stand tall and face her decision head on. Everyone's encouraging words and praise gave her the courage to finally do the one thing she's refused to accept all these years and now she is finally ready. She's completely tearing down her walls and opening up her shell so that she can look to the better and brighter future that is right before her eyes.

So taking a deep breath in and out, Lucy looks to her grandfather with unwavering eyes and says, "Grandpa, I'm ready to tell you everything you need to know to put my father in prison."

To say Makarov was surprised would be an understatement, the amount of hardships this one small child has had to endure would drive a grown man to tears. They have all admired her bravery and her bubbly attitude, she brings a sort of warmth to their family and everyone easily welcomed her with wide open arms, no questions asked.

"I do have one small request though." Lucy mumbled, feeling ashamed for even asking.

"My dear Lucy, whatever it is you tell me and we will make it happen alright?" He reassured her

Lucy nodded her head before speaking again, "I would like for you, Laxus, Mira, Elfman, Erza, Jellal and Gildarts to meet me at Magnolia State Cemetery early tomorrow morning. I have something important that I want you all to see first and then I will tell you everything you need to know."

Makarov nodded without hesitation, "I will make it happen Lucy you don't need to worry." He smiled at her knowing that this must still be very trying for her, so he will make it as easy for her as he can and comply to her wishes.

"Myself and everyone else will meet you at the entrance to that cemetery 8:00 am sharp." He stated letting her rest easy knowing that he will handle everyone else.

"I would like to keep this between you and me for now, at least until tomorrow morning. I don't want everyone to worry while there is a party going on." Lucy requested

"As you wish my dear."

"Thank you grandpa. I'm gonna ask Laxus if he can run me home real quick, our concert really wore me out." She softly laughed

"I'm sure it did, you two were all over that stage." Makarov chuckled

Lucy stood and made her way around his desk to place a kiss on top of his head, "Goodnight grandpa, I'll see you in the morning bright and early."

"Goodnight my child."

* * *

The next morning Lucy was already up, fed and out of the mansion before anyone woke up, she wanted time to herself to collect her thoughts. So she decided to walk to the cemetery, giving her at least half an hour by herself.

By the time she reached the cemetery everyone she requested be present was already there and waiting for her, every single one –aside from Makarov- had questioning looks and confusion written all over their faces.

"Alright gramps, what's this all about?" Gildarts questioned

Mira and Elfman looked at Lucy, "Little one? What's going on?" Elfman asked

"Is everything alright Lucy?" Worry was the only emotion heard in Mira's voice

Makarov looked to the girl, "Lucy?" he question making everyone lock their eyes on the girl.

Lucy smiled at everyone hoping that would calm their uneasiness before she silently gestured with her head for them to follow her. Still giving her confused looks the group complied and followed the girl through the winding paths around marbled headstones depicting names and statuses of loved one's long deceased.

The group of adults followed the short girl for about 10 minutes before a very large headstone portraying the resting place of someone's loved one came into view. The group slowed down as they watched Lucy walk right up to the grave and stand directly in front of the name plate, shielding their eyes from knowing who was resting here.

Lucy cleared her throat to gain everyone's attention and smiled lovingly at her amazing family, "I brought you all here to introduce you to someone very special to my heart, I also brought you 7 because not only have you been with me since day one, you have also bent over backwards to help me overcome my fear, to overcome my shyness, and to once again be able to speak without fear of retaliation for my words and sounds. Y-you have worked s-so hard for me-" Lucy's voice began to crack and she had to swallow the painful lump building in her throat while trying to blink the tears away, "Y-you have worked so hard for me, I felt it was time to return the favor." She finished

Everyone's hearts were clenched tightly wanting to rush to the struggling girl but knew that she had to do this on her own. Makarov stepped forward, placing himself in front of the group, "Lucy, who would you like to introduce us to?" he questioned

Lucy gave them a sad smile and allowed her built up tears to finally fall, she side stepped from in front of the grave and with a gentle gesture of her hand she began, "Everyone, I would like to introduce you to my mama." And there, carved into the beautiful headstone was the name of one person they all thought they would never meet:

 _ **Layla Ashley Heartfilia**_

 _ **Loving Wife and Mother**_

 _ **1976-2003**_

Everyone gasped loudly, Mira and Erza's hands shot up to their mouths but before anyone could get a word out Lucy began speaking again, "M-my name I-is Lucy Ashley Heartfilia, I-I am the d-daughter of Layla and J-J-Jude Heartfilia. I-I use t-to live in a two story w-white house o-on Strawberry Street, number 1047. I-I was a-also enrolled in Sabertooth Academy." Lucy's voice cracked as a sob broke through, all her energy seemed to leak out of her body causing her legs to buckle under the pressure dropping her to her knees and she loudly sobbed.

* * *

 _ **~AN~**_

 _ **I am sorry for taking so long to put up a new chapter, but as I have said in my other stories I'm going through a rough patch in my life right now and I just haven't had the brain capacity to be able to write anymore with my stories lately.**_

 _ **I promise that I am NOT giving up or discontinuing any of my stories, I'm just going to be slow to update but update I will.**_

 _ **Promise**_

 _ **Let me know if you like the new chapter, I decided that it was about time for time skip to get the story really going.**_

 _ **Until next time!**_

 _ **Much love from a tkitty!**_


	7. Chapter 7

Mira and Erza rushed over to the fallin' blonde, squishing her shivering and sobbing body between theirs, cooing to her while rocking back and forth and running their fingers through her hair in an attempt at calming the broken girl down.

This was the last big step Lucy had to take to completely rid her of her horrid past and it was definitely not an easy one.

Makarov turned to look at Gildarts who was just standing there -along with Laxus, Elfman and Jellal- with a face contorted with nothing but pain and memories as he stared at Lucy.

"Gildarts…please tell me you remember everything she said. I do not want her to have to try and repeat it."

Gildarts snapped his gaze to the elder man, he cleared his throat of the painful knot that embedded itself there before answering, "Uh…yea…yea I got it." He pulled out his small note pad and pen from his coat pocket making sure to write everything Lucy said down. "I'm-uh…I'm gonna go ahead and head back to the station so we can get started on this right away." He stated while rubbing the back of his head awkwardly jabbing a thumb in the direction of their vehicles.

Makarov nodded and watched as Gildarts hurried away, turning back to the still sobbing girl he sighed, "Mira, why don't you and Elfman take her home. Erza and Jellal I want you guys with her too, bring Ruby with you. She's going to need all the comforting she can get right now. I will have your shop and your shifts covered for today, spend time with her."

They didn't speak and opted to nod their heads instead, the women helped Lucy back to her feet and attempted to help her trembling form walk back to the cars before Elfman simply picked her up, cradled her to his chest and walked away with the others in tow.

Laxus sighed as he watched the 5 disappear into the distance before looking back to his grandfather, "Gramps…I- "he started to try and speak before Makarov interrupted him, "To think…this entire time…all these years she's been with us…we've known. We've known all along who exactly she is…we should have seen it sooner… **I** should have seen it sooner. The resemblance is uncanny, Lucy may as well be Layla's twin or clone and not her daughter." He stated bitterly, angry at himself for not seeing sooner, angry at himself for not helping like he knew he should have all those years ago but most of all angry that he allowed her to walk out of their lives and not drag her back.

Laxus chose to remain silent, listening and watching as the older man moved closer to the grave.

Makarov placed a hand on Layla's name, "you younger kids may not remember her…but I sure as hell do and I know Gildarts does as well…I remember the day she enrolled into my school…I remember the day she met Igneel and Silver…I remember the day when she met Grand, Porly and Ur…I remember the first day her bright smiling face showed up at FC with the others…she belonged with us from day one and everyone loved her but none more than those 4…"

Makarov quietly sighed as he felt tears slowly fall and wet his cheeks, "I also remember her wedding day, I walked her down the aisle after all…I remember how heartbroken Igneel, Silver, Grand and Ur were. We all knew, as much as they may have thought they hid it, we knew there was something more between those 5. We knew they were more than friends…" Makarov sighed as he gently stroked Layla's name plate, "I also remember the massive fight they had the day before she was to marry Jude. I remember Igneel and Silver pleading on their hands and knees -in the middle of FC- for her to not get married to him, that he was no good. They begged her to stay with them and to leave with them overseas and help run the businesses together like they had originally planned. But Layla told them that what she had with Jude was true love and thus pushed away those that truly loved and cared for her."

Laxus walked up to the broken old man and placed a hand on his shoulder, "I knew the truth though…she didn't want Igneel or Silver to know the real reason why she married that man…She had gotten pregnant and refused to terminate the pregnancy no matter how many times Jude told her to. She said to me that if the world wanted her to be a mother then who was she to deny creation itself and thus sealed her fate with Jude."

Makarov's shoulders sagged and he looked to the ground as he continued his story, "She cut us all out after that…after her wedding, Layla disappeared and we never seen nor heard from her again…now I truly wonder if it was her doing or if it was actually Jude that made her abandon her family for him and her unborn child…I never forgot about her though and I often found myself wondering over the years what became of my lost fairy. Now…I wish I did not know…such a beautiful, amazing, bright, talented and caring woman did not deserve this…and to think…our Lucy was the cause of her staying behind. That poor child has had it rough since day one, she just never knew it."

Makarov sighed once again, "I fear the day now when the Dragneel's and Fullbuster's finally return home. They have no idea that Layla is no longer with us and even to this day, they still do not know about her pregnancy. It was my duty to take that information to my grave as a promise to her that I would never tell them the truth, as much as it broke me inside to watch my children go through so much pain, I promised her…but now, I do not have a choice and they will find out the moment they lay eyes on Lucy and our secret will be revealed."

Makarov looked back up at the headstone, "I swear to you Layla –on my life- that I will continue to take care of your precious daughter and we will have that vile man incarcerated and thrown behind lock and key where he truly belongs. Lucy is a fairy -as were you- and she will stay where she belongs…I promise."

Laxus gently patted Makarov's shoulder, "Come on gramps, we've got work to do if we are going to throw that bastard behind bars."

Laxus turned the old man to start heading back to their car but not before looking over his shoulder at Layla's headstone, "Don't you worry ma'am, we will continue to protect our little sister till our dyeing breath. We will never allow our sun to be snuffed out and taken away from us. I can promise you that."

 _ **~MIRA~**_

Elfman pulled up to the driveway of our home parking the truck and turned it off. I was really worried about Lucy; she hasn't spoken or signed one single word to us since we left the cemetery, she was just in a daze looking out her window the whole drive. I watched as Elfman stepped out of the truck and immediately walked around to Lucy's door, he didn't say anything to her –nor she to him- when he opened up her door, he picked her up once again and walked into the house.

I trailed behind somewhat lost in my thoughts as my feet followed the two inside, I watched as Elf set Lucy down on the couch, making sure she was comfortable and placing a blanket on her still shivering body. He kissed the top of her head before he left her side and walked quietly upstairs, it's strange for him to be so quiet but I'm sure he's just shocked like everyone else is.

I shook my head and made my way to Lucy deciding to stay with her, sitting down right next to her, I pulled her head gently to lay down in my lap. She complied instantly, wrapping her arms around my waist and snuggled her face into my stomach. I ran my fingers through her hair in an attempt to help her relax and maybe fall asleep, I'm sure she's exhausted from all the emotions she's already went to through this morning.

"Sleep Lucy, we will talk when you feel better." I softly spoke to her feeling her nod against my stomach before she let out a loud sigh, for the next few minutes I watched as her eyes slowly drooped close and her breathing even out until finally she was sleeping peacefully in my lap. Her grip around my waist didn't let up one bit, not that I would complain, this is what she would always come to me for. That lasting comfort that she seems to only see in me, to know that if she falls asleep I'll still be here when she wakes up.

I know she still struggles with abandonment issues and I refuse to let her think that I or anyone else would ever abandon her ever. So I will not move from my spot no matter how long she lays here, I am her rock right now and I must be sturdy for her to survive.

It wasn't long after Lucy had fallen asleep that Erza and Jellal walked in with little Ruby, they had left to pick her up from daycare before they came over.

"How is she?" I heard Jellal ask as soon as they seen me and her on the couch.

Sighing, I lifted my eyes away from her to look at the 3 standing in our living room, "She's as ok as she can be I suppose. She hasn't spoken or signed anything since we left the cemetery and I just got her to fall asleep. I'm sure she's beyond exhausted emotionally."

Jellal nodded and walked in with Erza and Ruby close behind taking a seat on the sofa across from myself and Lucy.

"I don't have a doubt in my mind that that was extremely difficult for her, not to mention introducing us to her mother…I can't imagine anyone able to keep their emotions in check while finally opening up and breaking down the last of their walls." Erza softly spoke, Ruby had too fallen asleep and was resting comfortably in her arms.

I nodded my head, "Aye…I wanted to talk to you two about something though. I figured now is good of time as any with Lucy sleeping." I suddenly asked, I had a nagging thought digging at my mind ever since we seen Lucy's moms name. Gramps and Gildarts were different and I want to know if anyone else noticed it.

They both looked at me with confused faces, "What's on your mind Mira?" Jellal asked

"Did either of you notice how gramps and Gildarts immediately started acting different the moment Lucy moved away from the headstone?"

"I didn't, no, but all of my attentions were on Lucy at the time." Erza answered

"I actually did notice Gildarts." Jellal spoke up

"He tensed up didn't he? The moment her name came into view, both him and gramps tensed. I barely seen it but I know my eyes didn't lie to me." I stated still just wondering what that could mean.

"You don't think…think that maybe they knew Lucy's mom do you?" Erza suddenly asked

I thought about it for a minute, still running my fingers through Lucy's hair, "as strange as that may be I think you might be right Erza. It would be the only explanation for why they suddenly looked like they seen a ghost." I told them my thoughts and they both seemed to agree with me.

"I suppose we will have to sit gramps down and get him to tell us everything he knows." Jellal shrugged, "in the meantime let us just focus on Lucy and making her feel better for now."

Erza and I both agreed and decided to change the subject to making Lucy's favorite dinner and eating together tonight.

 _ **~NORMAL~**_

It's been a week since Lucy took her family to see her mother's grave and she is back to her bubbly outgoing personality that they all know and love.

Mira, Erza, Jellal and Elfman all confronted Makarov about their findings from that day leaving him no choice but to reveal just why they acted the way they did. To say they were shocked with the new information would be beyond an understatement and it only made them want to protect Lucy that much more. She may have had bad luck in her past but they were bound and determined to make sure she continued to have a good life now.

Lucy was currently sitting in FC in one of the tables by herself playing around on her laptop. She was going through some of her more recent pictures she's taken and has been working on editing them to post on her personal photography page. She was just getting ready to go through all the pictures she had her camera set up to take the night her and Gajeel were playing when she received a call for a video chat from Natsu.

She accepted it immediately and almost burst out laughing at the very sleepy face of Natsu as soon as the call connected.

" _Heeeey Luce…"_ Natsu yawned a greeting to her

She sighed, "Natsu did you seriously just roll out of bed? And where's Gray?" she happened to noticed he was absent which was odd, they normally talk together.

She heard Natsu tsk, _"that stripper is still sawin' logs, we left the party we went to around like 3 in the mornin' or somthin' our time."_

Lucy raised an eyebrow, "You guys went to a party last night?"

Natsu sleepily nodded, _"Yea, one of our buddies decided to throw us a goin' away party. It got pretty crazy, don't really remember much."_ he chuckled out a response

Lucy shook her head, "You two are unbelievable some days…at least you made it home in one piece though."

Natsu laughed, _"of course we made it home in one piece, who do you think we are Lucy?"_

Lucy giggled and was just about to respond when another higher pitched voice rang through the computers speakers, _"Natsuuuu~ come back to bed."_

Lucy sucked in a breath and watched as Natsu snapped his head in the direction of his bed, _'don't tell me that idiot actually forgot that he brought someone home last night'_ she thought, desperately trying to hide the jealous feelings burning through her chest.

Natsu turned back to Lucy and she watched as his face contorted showing so many emotions Lucy actually couldn't keep track. She watched as he looked back and forth between her and whoever was in his bed, she watched as he opened his mouth to reply but immediately snapped it shut and sucked in a large amount of air. Whatever just happened Lucy was sure she was not going to like, _"Come on Natsu~ you know you want some more,"_ Lucy watched as his eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open, she was long forgotten at this point, _"Come here and I'll make you feel really good."_ She heard the mysterious girl coo at the seduced male on her screen.

Lucy gagged slightly, this has never happened before. Both males always either completely ignored the women they still had over or kicked them out when they would talk to her. This only brought on a whole slew of emotions that Lucy wasn't prepared for, it was becoming increasingly harder to hide the pain she was feeling now the more she watched and listened to whatever this woman had planned for her crush/best friend.

She seriously needed to end this now before her heart would hurt any more than it already was.

Sighing, Lucy stared at the side of Natsu's face on the screen almost pleading for him to look back at her before she spoke, "I'll talk to you later Natsu." Just before Lucy cut the feed Natsu's head snapped back to the screen and she had seen him cringe for some reason, _"Lu- "_ he attempted to speak before it went black.

Lucy let out a shaky breath as she stared at the blank screen, "Stupid idiot…don't you know how I feel about you?" she mumbled rubbing her chest just above her heart in a futile attempt at easing the pain pulsing through her body.

Lucy closed her laptop, no longer in the mood to mess with her pictures, and pushed it away from herself before she dropped her head to rest her forehead onto the table, groaning pathetically.

"Stupid playboys…." She mumbled into the table, she didn't even hear someone walk up to her before she felt whoever it was heavily plop down right next to her.

"What the playboys do now LB?" Gajeel's gruff voice broke through the inner turmoils of her frantic mind.

Lucy pouted as she turned her head to look at Gajeel, she shot her bottom lip out and gave him the biggest hurt puppy face she could muster up, "Gaj…am I attractive?"

Gajeel choked on his own spit and slammed a fist into his chest a few times to ease the coughing fit he was just thrown in, "THE HELL LB! What kind of question is that?!" he shouted as he glared at the still pouting female.

Lucy whined, "I just want those stupid boys to notice me for once…is that really too much to ask for?" She pouted even more as her eyes became glassy with unshed tears.

Gajeel sighed, "Geez LB, you really are stupid aren't you…you shouldn't base your appearance off of two dumbasses who stupidly can't recognize the beautiful woman right in front of them. I know any man would bend over backwards and jump through hoops just to be with you." he dropped a massive hand on the back of her head, grinning at her when she looked at him.

Lucy chuckled, "Dwaaa, Gajeel thinks I'm beautiful." Lucy laughed harder at his flushed face

"SERIOUSLY! I just give you this heartfelt speech and that's what you cling too?!" he growled at her

"Pretty much." she shrugged while grinning from her spot still on the table.

Gajeel ruffled her hair some, "whatever LB, how bout we head to my place so we can practice some. Your stupid playboys will be home in about 3 weeks and we still need to fine tune the Ravenface songs if we want to play them right for their welcome home party."

Lucy sighed before lifting her head up, "yea I guess you're right, I still need to work on 'Wait for no one'. That beginning is still hard to get for some reason."

Gajeel snickered then stood up offering his hand to help her stand, "You'll get it LB, come on you killed Angel's song, this one won't be any different."

Lucy grabbed his hand and grinned at him, "Yea your right, we need to get to work if we want to do another killer show." Standing up Lucy looked to the bar for Mira, "HEY MIRA! GAJEEL AND I ARE GONNA GO PRACTICE AT HIS HOUSE! WE WILL BE BACK IN A FEW HOURS!"

Mira looked up from the drink she was mixing, "ALRIGHT LUCY BE CAREFUL PLEASE! KEEP YOUR PHONE WITH YOU!" she shouted back and waved at the two.

Lucy and Gajeel were almost to the doors when they suddenly opened allowing for someone else to walk in, "Hi uncle Gildarts!" Lucy greeted the older man

"Hey kiddo, where you two off too in such a hurry?" he questioned the teens

"We're heading to my place so we can practice for the welcome home party." Gajeel answered

Gildarts hummed, "Alright, be careful you two. By the way do you know if gramps is in?"

"Yea actually he back in his office." Lucy answered, turning to point in the direction of Makarov's office

"Thanks kids." Gildarts ruffled Lucy's hair before walking past them to head to gramps.

Gajeel and Lucy shared a confused look before shrugging and walked out of the bar/club.

 _ **~GILDARTS AND GRAMPS~**_

Gildarts walked up to Makarov's office, taking a deep breath in and slowly letting it out. Gramps isn't going to like what he's come to discuss with him one bit and he felt the need to prepare himself. Taking another calming breath in and out he finally knocked on the door hearing a muffled 'come in' from the other side. Gildarts opened the door and was greeted by the sight of Makarov bent over his desk working on paper work for FC, looking up he smile a tired smile to him before speaking, "Gildarts, what can I do for you my boy?"

Gildarts sighed, closing the door behind him and walking to sit in one of the chairs in front of Makarov's desk, "Gramps, I've got some news and you're not going to like it."

Makarov cocked a white, wrinkled brow, shooting the younger man a questioning look, "What happened?" he asked

Gildarts sighed once again mentally preparing himself, "gramps…we can't find him."

Makarov's face suddenly turned dark, "what do you mean you can't find him?" he growled out his question

"I mean just that…we can't find him…Jude Heartfilia disappeared 2 years ago and hasn't been seen since." Gildarts answered. He knew Makarov was not going to be happy to hear that Lucy's father was in hiding and he knew he would be furious to know that he's still on the loose out there somewhere.

"He completely cleaned out his bank accounts of all money, he hasn't been to his job in 2 years, he hasn't used any credit cards in 2 years and his house is abandoned. The bank took the house back but hasn't made any effort yet to fix it up for selling, which was a major plus for us. We took control of the house and placed it under evidence and police surveillance incase Jude happens to come back."

Gildarts face suddenly darkened just like Makarov's did, a deadly aura filled the small office, "I've been in that house gramps….and even now I have no idea how Lucy survived as long as she did…it was like I walked into a house of horrors…there wasn't one single wall that didn't have a hole in it and dried blood around it. Her room…she wasn't exaggerating at all when she told us how she was living…my heart broke more times than I could count the longer I was in that house…if Layla could see it now she would be turning in her grave…"

Gildarts grew silent for a moment as he went over every detail of that house in his head, "That man is truly sick gramps…when we walked into the master bedroom…I really wasn't sure what I was looking at. The walls were covered floor to ceiling in a sick shrine of Layla, pictures of her painted every single open space of that room. He made some sort of weird life sized doll and kept it on the bed, it was dressed it in what we guessed were Layla's old clothing and had a picture of her face where the head would be…but that wasn't what really disturbed us…some of the pictures he had up were of the 3 of them and in every single one of those…Lucy was scratched out."

Makarov paled the longer Gildarts described Lucy's old home, now he is truly happy that she happened to stumble into their lives when she did and not a moment later.

"Lucy is remarkable and very strong for having lived through that for so many years…I don't ever want her to have to go through that again. We will keep looking, I refuse to give up. I've already sent out wanted pictures to all stations around Colorado just in case he skipped town but I highly doubt he did."

"Why do you think that?" Makarov questioned

"Think about it, if he was that obsessed with Layla, do you really think he's going to leave her grave?" Gildarts stated

Makarov hummed, "You might have a point…until we can be certain that Lucy will not come into harm's way I want someone with her at all times. We do not want to chance her possibly running into that man alone if he is indeed still around. Did you see her when you came in? Is she still here?"

"She was just leaving with Gajeel to head to his house to practice for the welcome home party when I walked in." Gildarts answered

"Good, as long as she isn't alone and is keeping herself busy we can keep working on finding him."

"I have all the man power I can muster up for this case and everyone has a picture of him with them at all times. If he is ever spotted, we will know about it." Gildarts reassured the old man

"I suppose that is all we can do for now. Thank you for your hard work Gildarts, I know this hasn't been an easy case for you but I know Lucy is grateful and loves you dearly for it." Makarov gave him a small smile.

Gildarts huffed out a small laugh, "Aye…that kid has had me wrapped around her finger since day one…she really is Layla's daughter without a doubt."

Makarov chuckled slightly, "Aye, that she is. Just as bright and talented as her mother was, our family wouldn't know what to do if we lost another light as bright as hers…keep her safe Gildarts."

"You know I will gramps."

 _ **~LUCY AND GAJEEL~**_

"Come on LB, we've been at it for 3 hours now! Get your head in the game and focus!" Gajeel growled out to the female, she's still having a hard time with the Ravenface song and can't concentrate because her thoughts are flying around those two stupid playboys.

Of course why wouldn't her thoughts be drawn to think about those two idiots when all they've both done for 3 hours is constantly call and text her trying to get her to talk to them but she just isn't ready to talk to either of them yet. It probably isn't fair to Gray since it was Natsu that messed up her head but that was beside the point. She can't afford to be distracted but no matter what she does her brain always seems to go back to them.

"DAMN IT I'M TRYING!" she yelled back

Gajeel scoffed, "Ya ain't tryin' LB, your head has been in the clouds since we left FC and you haven't once come back down to Earth. Come on, let's take a quick break and grab something to eat and drink, then maybe your stupid brain will follow."

Lucy glared at the male, "It's not my fault!" she pouted, "blame those stupid boys for fuckin' up my mind."

"Oh trust me, I do blame those morons for the shit I'm being put through and believe me when I say that I will get my revenge when I finally see them." Gajeel snarled out while glaring holes into one of the walls in his garage.

Lucy sighed, "I'm trying Gaj…I really am…I'm just tired of not being noticed."

Gajeel let out a breath, his anger disappearing almost as quickly as it came, "I know LB but did you ever think that maybe if you practiced and worked hard to learn these songs for their welcome home party that they would notice you and only you when they finally see you play live and in person for them? As much as it may fuckin' irritate me, I know how in love you are with both those assholes."

Lucy blushed bright red, "I-I d-didn't say I was in l-l-love with them!" she stuttered as she squeak/yelled her response

Gajeel scoffed yet again, "ya didn't have to LB, anyone with half a brain can see how much you smile and light up just talkin' to those two idiots."

Lucy stared at him for a minute before closing her eyes, sighing, "Aye…they are idiots…alright, let's get that food and drink really quick then get back to it. I need to learn this song by the end of tonight so I can prefect it for the party." Lucy stated with a determined face causing Gajeel to chuckle at her.

"That's my LB."

 _ **~TWO WEEKS LATER~**_

There was only one more week left to go before the Dragneel's and Fullbuster's big welcome home party and everyone has been busy rushing and preparing everything that has needed to be done.

Lucy and Gajeel were able to perfect the new songs they have been working on specifically for the party and have been practicing them every single day since.

Today though Lucy had decided that she wanted a break from the craziness that has been at FC and decided to stay in her room at Mira and Elman's house. She's currently laying on her back on her floor with one of her acoustic guitars in hand, she's been lazily plucking the strings playing a slow 'Nothing else Matters' by Metallica while she has her laptop open resting on the floor right along with her with video chat connected to Natsu and Gray. This is almost a daily thing for the three of them, she will somewhat practice playing while laying somewhere in her room and Gray and Natsu will play some type of game while they fight with each other and listen to her play.

It almost makes it feel like they are in the same room as each other instead of thousands of miles apart, though that will change when the families finally move back home and Lucy couldn't be more excited.

Suddenly Lucy groaned out loud and sighed earning her the attentions of both males, _"what's the matter Lucy?"_ Gray asked

Lucy turned her head to look at the two men on the screen of her computer, "this week needs to hurry up and move faster already…" she pouted earning her chuckles from both

" _Why's that Luce? You really that excited to see us?"_ Natsu questioned with a smirk which Lucy didn't seem to notice.

"Well duh, I mean who wouldn't be excited to see their best friends for the first time face to face." Lucy set her guitar aside so she could cross her arms underneath her chest and pout some more.

Gray was the next to smirk at her response, _"you sure that's all it is Lucy? Cuz we think you just want to get your hands on our bodies."_ They both snickered when her face exploded into a bright red blush.

"THAT'S NOT IT AND YOU BOTH KNOW IT!" she yelled out sitting up so she was on her knees and glaring at the two hysterically laughing males.

" _Suuuuure, whatever you say."_ Gray teased the flustered blond

Lucy whined, "Why do you guys always have to tease me? It's not nice."

" _It's cuz you're cute when you're all mad Luce."_ Natsu answered

Lucy choked on her own spit at his blunt answer, "don't say things like that so casually weirdo. People might get the wrong idea."

She heard both males scoff, _"So what…what if we want people to think that way?"_

Again she was thrown off by Gray's blunt answer only this time she couldn't come up with anything to say seeing as her brain completely fried. Best she could do was squeak out, "h-huh?"

She watched as both males rolled their eyes, _"never mind, don't worry about it Luce."_ Natsu replied as she watched them immediately continue with their game seemingly forgetting all about the strange conversation they just had with her.

Lucy could only stare at the two for a full minute before she snapped out of her daze and plopped herself back down on her back on her floor, using an arm to cover her eyes and sigh. What she didn't realize was as soon as her eyes were covered both males looked at her with simple and pure love and desire for her evident in their eyes before they focused back on their games. They would just have to show her how they truly felt when they were finally home…only 7 more agonizingly slow days to go.

Lucy –wanting to finish wallowing in self-pity- decided to pick her guitar back up and play a new song that she knows the boys haven't heard yet, it's alright though because it's one of the songs they her and Gajeel decided not to play at the party because it was too short.

She set her guitar back on her stomach, positioned her fingers on the starting strings and began plucking the song 'Echo from the Sky' by Ravenface. It's just a short intro song but it still has so much heart and feelings too it that for some reason it always manages to make her feel better no matter what type of mood she's in.

The boys had paused their game yet again only this time their gazes were securely fixed on the blond as they watched her fingers glide effortlessly over the strings of her guitar. Her brows were pinched and her eyes closed as she allowed her soul to pour out into the music she was playing, the boys were in awe at the beauty before them. Even though she was simply laying on her back plucking away at the strings of her guitar they couldn't help but admire her, the way she seemed so at peace with everything around her, like she was completely lost in her own little world and as far as they knew, she was.

When she finished the song she was startled out of her trance by them both clapping, _"You really are something amazing Lucy, and we can't wait to see you play for us in person."_ Gray declared with pure awe in his voice.

" _Yea Luce, that was truly amazing. We love watching you play."_ Natsu agreed giving her a wide toothy grin.

Lucy's heart skipped a few beats, she had actually forgot that they were still there. She had truly lost herself in the song and forgot all about her worries and the meeting of her best friends, "aww…thanks guys. Believe it or not but I'm actually excited to get to play for you in person, playing like this gives me a way to show you my heart and soul while also giving you a way into my world that I love so very much." She explained earning her grins from both males, _"Well we can't wait to get to see you."_ Gray stated again and Lucy couldn't help but smile at them. This is exactly why she loves them both and it's also the reason why they are her best friends, she can actually be herself around them without the fear of being judged because of her passions.

To them she is Lucy and will always be Lucy.

 _ **~WELCOME HOME PARTY~**_

It was finally the day for the massive welcome home party for the Dragneel's and Fullbuster's and while everyone is extremely happy that their family members are finally coming home everyone can't seem to shake the strange ominous feeling they are all getting that something is going to go horribly wrong today.

They just have no idea what it is…

Mira and Erza in particular have been horrifically on edge and are very paranoid of everything around them.

Lucy was another that had a twisting feeling in her gut but she was choosing to ignore the strange feelings and instead keep her attentions on the finalizing of decorations and food preparations for the returning families. They still had about 2 hours left until both families were supposed to walk through the door of FC but they really wanted things to be perfect despite the aching and stabbing feelings they had.

Makarov had made sure that every single family member was present for this special occasion and sat with Gildarts at the bar drinking away while they watched everyone else hustle and bustle around the entire building.

"Have you any news?" Makarov whispered to the male next to him

Gildarts sighed, "no…nothing new…we've been looking for him for over a month now but it seems that every time we get close to tracking him down he disappears again." He whispered his answer back.

Makarov let out a breath through his nose, "Then let us focus on the party tonight for now. We do not want our family to worry about that man when we are supposed to be having fun."

"I agree." Was Gildarts simple answer and they both returned to watching everyone run around while enjoying their drinks.

When the 1-hour mark had hit Lucy decided that she wanted to go talk with her mom before she was to finally meet the boys and calm her racing heart, "Hey Mira, I need to get some fresh air for a while and calm myself before the boys arrive. I'm gonna go walk to talk to mama for a bit."

Mira looked to her with slight panic and worry, the gut wrenching feeling didn't let up the entire day and only seemed to get worse as the day grew later, "are you sure Lucy? Can I send someone to go with you?" she almost pleaded with the girl, she really didn't like this feeling what so ever.

"No, I'd rather go by myself. I really want to talk to mama alone if you don't mind." Lucy answered

Mira sighed, she understood and didn't have the heart to ever tell Lucy that she couldn't do something, especially when she was simply asking to spend a few minutes with her mother. "Ok Lucy…" she finally gave in, "Just PLEASE be careful and hurry back."

Lucy smiled, "Don't worry big sis, it's only a 15-minute walk to the cemetery. I should be back just as Natsu and Gray are supposed to arrive, I wouldn't miss their party for the world. We've worked too hard on it for me to not show up." Lucy chuckled and Mira couldn't help but giggle feeling some of her worries ease up a tiny bit with Lucy's calming laugh.

"Alright. You've got an hour, hurry back or I'll have to come get you myself." She stared down the younger girl making sure her threat was well received.

Lucy saluted, "Yes ma'am!" and turned to walk out the doors and towards her mother.

What no one realized was…that was the worst mistake they could have made…Lucy's fate was sealed…and it would be sealed in blood once again.

Around half an hour since Lucy left, Erza had walked up to the bar where Mira, Gildarts and Makarov were with a questioning look on her face.

"What's wrong Erza? You look like something is bugging you." Mira questioned making the two older males look in Erza's direction

Erza let out an uneasy breath, "I don't know, I still have this feeling like something terrible is going to happen but I have no idea what it is…"

Mira nodded her head, "I have too…" she admitted

Erza suddenly looked around the whole club then turned back to the 3, "have any of you seen Lucy in a while?"

"Lucy went to visit her mom before the boys showed up. Something about calming her nerves down before the 3 finally meet in person." Mira answered

Erza slightly paled which didn't go unnoticed, "Is everything alright Erza?" Makarov questioned

"Yea…yea…I-uh…I'm just worried is all. I don't like the idea of her being alone right now especially with this bad feeling everyone has." Erza stated and all 3 nodded

"I'm sure she's just fine, it's only a 15-minute walk from here to her mom. She's probably just taking her time talking and calming herself down, I wouldn't be too worried." Gildarts tried to sooth everyone around him even though he's not so sure either.

They all sighed and just decided to wait for their bubbly blond to return to them as they waited for their long gone family members to finally show up.

* * *

Meanwhile with Lucy, she was busy chatting away with Layla as she sat in front of her grave.

"I'm so nervous mama…what if they are completely different in person then they are over the phone or computer? What if they don't like how I look in person? What if they don't like how I play in person? Oh gods, I don't think I could handle it if they didn't want to be my friends anymore…"

Lucy sighed, feeling the slight breeze flutter through her golden hair, "I guess I should probably get back…wouldn't want to keep Mira worrying and make her actually come looking for me." Lucy chuckled at the thought of Mira running down the sidewalk and tackling her into a bone crushing hug, all the while scolding her for taking too long.

"I love you mama and I miss you terribly, wish me luck." She whispered out but as soon as the words left her mouth a stronger breeze began to push against her body almost like it was trying to push her back quickly to FC and suddenly the gut twisting feeling came back tenfold, it was almost like she was being given a warning, a warning that was clearly stating _'LEAVE NOW!'_

She was too late to act on it though…

"So…the disgusting rat decides to visit my Layla's grave, how fucking typical."

Lucy paled quickly and her heart started to race as her eyes grew wide, she could only quietly whisper out a single word.

"No…"

* * *

 _ **~AN~**_

 _ **I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for being so supportive and understanding of my situations.**_

 _ **It actually made me severely happy that I decided to go ahead and work on the next chapter for you guys right away.**_

 _ **Let me know how I did and I'm sure you're not going to be happy with the cliffhanger I left you on and I apologize for that lol.**_

 _ **Until next time!**_

 _ **Much love from a tkitty!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**~AN~**_

 _ **K…I actually felt really bad for leaving you with such an intense cliffhanger that I went ahead and started the next chapter for you guys. I actually am not excited for this chapter…mainly because my heart goes out to Lucy and this is my own story… :(**_

 _ **I just wanted to clarify somethings for you really quick before we get started, Lucy is going to have a sever melt down and her brain is going to basically short circuit. She's going to start talking to herself in her own mind so I wanted to let you know which Lucy is which.**_

 _*Lucy's normal thought voice_

 _ ***Lucy's fighter thought voice**_

 _ **It will make more since when you actually see it. Promise.**_

 _ **Chapter 8 y'all**_

* * *

The hour mark had long passed and everyone was on pins and needles because Igneel had called Makarov to inform him that they were on their way and would be at FC in no more than 5 minutes.

Almost everyone was hoping that the two families would love their surprise that they have been working on for so many weeks…but there were a select few that were worrying more about a particular **someone** who still has yet to make it back from her small trip.

Mira was pacing back and forth behind the bar with Erza following right behind her while Laxus, Jellal, Elfman, Gajeel, Gildarts and even Makarov were shifting and bouncing in their seats unable to keep still nor continue to ignore the brooding feeling they all had deep in their guts.

"Why isn't she back yet? She should be back by now…what if something happened to her?! We should go out and look for her!" Mira's panicked voice suddenly called out as she began to make her way around the bar. Laxus halted her movements though by grabbing onto her arm, "relax Mira, we are all worried about her but she probably just lost track of time, she is talking to her mom after all. Give her a bit more time and if she doesn't show up soon then I will go and find her myself. Sound good?" Laxus tried to compromise with the panicked woman.

Mira took several deep breaths in and out to ease the growing fear in her chest, "I just can't shake this feeling that something is wrong. That something is about to go horribly wrong…its getting darker outside and I don't like that she's still out there by herself…" she whispered out

"I agree with Mira…this doesn't feel right…she wouldn't keep us waiting and distressed like this, she would have called or texted one of us by now." Erza stated ready to follow Mira out in a heartbeat to find their missing little one.

"We understand, we are all feeling it but Laxus is right, she probably just lost track of time. I would bet she's already on her way back as we speak." Jellal tried to help calm her down as well.

"LB will be here, she promised she wouldn't miss this party for the world remember. She can't call or text even if she wanted to though, I have her phone. She didn't want to lose it so she gave it to me when we were working on the decorations." Gajeel informed showing them he did in fact have her phone and voiced out his thoughts, he was worried too and didn't like this situation one bit.

"We will give her a bit more time. If she doesn't show up within the next 10 minutes, Laxus and I will go find her." Gildarts stated and everyone's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"I just want her to be safe…" Mira whispered

Elfman pulled her into a hug, "we know big sis, we all do. But remember this is little one we're talking about, she's strong and Erza trained her well. She knows how to defend herself and get away if anything were to happen."

"Elfman is right, Lucy is resilient but that will not stop us from worrying about her. We will give her the designated time that Gildarts stated and if she has not returned by that time they will be sent out to find her and bring her home." Makarov finalized their small argument.

Everyone around them sighed, "aye…" they agreed.

They bar was silent for a moment as the waiting family listened for signs of the two arriving families.

They didn't have to wait long though as the sound of two fighting males were quickly approaching the doors to FC, "ALRIGHT EVERYONE! ITS SHOW TIME! GET INTO POSITIONS!" Makarov's voice boomed throughout the bar as they all excitedly waited for the doors to fly open.

Not but a few seconds later the doors did indeed burst open and the deep, more mature voices of Natsu and Gray rang out all through the bar, "WE'RE HOOOOOOOOOME!" They both shouted in unison only to be quickly followed by an even deeper elder voice, "DAMN IT YOU TWO! WHY CAN'T YOU ACT CIVILIZED FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIVES!" Shortly after the scowling faces of both Igneel and Silver came into view, they were both closely followed by the smiling forms of Grandeeney, Ur and another cute little girl who they have not met before.

The bar quickly erupted, "SURPRISE! WELCOME HOME!" taking both families completely off guard.

"Whoa! What's all this for?" Natsu eagerly asked as he eyed all the food they had made and decorations they had hung.

Makarov walked up to them with Gildarts and Laxus following closely behind, "Welcome home my children! It is nice to finally have my family whole once again, we have been planning this welcome home party for you for weeks now. So eat, drink and have fun!"

Igneel and Silver both chuckled before walking up to the elder man, Igneel pulled him in for a long awaited hug, "Good to be home gramps." Igneel softly said

Makarov gently patted the older Dragneel's back before letting go only to be pulled into another hug by Silver, "Good to see you again pops." Makarov chuckled, patting his back as well, "aye, welcome back brat." Silver let out a hardy laughed before letting go and standing tall beside Igneel once again.

Grand and Ur were next to greet the elder male squishing him in between their bodies, "Good to see you again grandpa" Grand said, "We missed everyone very much." Ur added

Makarov had happy tears in his eyes at this point, "welcome home my dears, it's so good to see your smiling faces once again." When the women stood back up Makarov turned his attention to the small girl that was practically glued to Grandeeney's leg, "and who is this lovely young lady?"

Grand giggled when the small girl squeaked burying her face even farther into her leg, "this is Wendy, my youngest." She informed the older male, Makarov smiled and nodded his head, "well you have fun and eat as much as your little heart desires!" he laughed out before turning to walk back to the bar.

Igneel and Silver veered away and were busy catching up with Gildarts, Laxus, Macao and Wakaba.

Grand, Ur and Wendy were busy chatting with Mira and Erza while playing with little baby Ruby.

Natsu and Gray on the other hand were busy roaming around the entire bar looking for the familiar head of gold which they couldn't seem to find at all. It wasn't until they made a full circle that they finally seen Gajeel sitting at the bar with some blue haired girl.

"YO! Metal head, can't say we're overly excited to see your grumpy ass face in person." Gray scoffed making Natsu snicker.

Gajeel tsked, "yea well the feelin's mutual, fuckin' playboys."

Tick marks appeared on both faces of Gray and Natsu, "YOU WANNA GO SCREW FOR BRAINS!?" Natsu suddenly yelled out

Gajeel jumped up pushing Levy away from him, he cracked his knuckles, "Yea as a matter a fact I do. I've been meaning to pound both your faces in for how you've been making my sister feel."

"The hell you goin' on about iron breath." Gray questioned while him and Natsu got into fighting positions

"I'm gonna make this clear to you two playboys now, if you break my LB's heart, I'll make sure you never walk again." Gajeel growled out through clenched teeth, readying himself to throw punches.

Natsu and Gray calmed down almost instantly as they looked at the black haired male in front of them, "speaking of which, where is Lucy? We've been lookin' for her since we walked in. Figured she would of been the first to greet us." Gray asked

Both males shot Gajeel a questioning look as they watched him visibly tense up, "she-uh…she had somethin' important to do. She will be here soon though." Gajeel tried to assure the two even though his thoughts said something completely different, _'where the hell are you LB? You better not be hurt or I swear I'll kill who ever dared to touch you…'_ he growled out in his mind.

 _ **~MAGNOLIA CEMETERY~**_

Lucy cried out in pain as her body was once again flung to the ground, her body aches from the sadly familiar pain its being put though. She had submitted her body from the very moment she heard his voice…to petrified to move from the ice that was flooding her veins freezing her on the spot.

' _I'm never going to get away from this…no matter how far I run…no matter how hard I try; he's always going to find me.'_

Lucy felt another harsh kick to her stomach making her cough uncontrollably, she swallowed thickly to keep the bile at bay as she continued to take blow after blow.

' _I should have accepted my fate years ago…I was a fool to think I could get away'_

"You're a disgusting, worthless piece of trash! You'll never amount to anything! You should just do the world a favor and DIE ALREADY!" She heard Jude bellow at her, he cocked his foot back quickly bringing it forwards landing a painful kick to Lucy's jaw launching her away several feet from him to her left.

Lucy just continued to lay there, her mind going blank as she stared at the headstone of her mother's grave directly in front of her.

' _He's right…I'll never amount to anything in this world…I should just die already and save everyone the trouble of having to worry about a pathetic bug like me.'_

"I don't even know why I bothered to allow you to live," Jude spat out as he proceeded to stomp on Lucy's batter body, "I should have killed you off the moment you tore through my Layla, then she wouldn't have had to die for a pathetic wretch like you!" he brought his foot back again and slammed it painfully into Lucy's ribs.

Lucy violently coughed as she felt the familiar crunch of her ribs breaking again, a small amount of blood had started to trickle out of her mouth and Lucy was beginning to wonder if she had internal bleeding.

Jude crouched down so that his face was close to her ear, "You stole my Layla from me and even have the balls to steal her face…so I'm going to take everything from you. Your so called _family_ will never see you again, I can promise you that." He hissed at her and pulled out a knife from his coat pocket and began cutting up one of her pants legs and stopping just below her hip. He then slightly cut across her front giving him just enough room to move and do whatever he wanted.

"Did you really think I didn't know where you were? Did you really think you could get away from me that easily? I just had to bide my time and wait patiently until you fucked up and left somewhere alone and completely unprotected and what better place than an empty graveyard, you'll be joining the dead soon enough anyways." He snarled into her ear again.

Lucy felt fat hot tears sliding from her eyes, _'this is it…he's going to take everything from me…my innocence…my soul…my life…it's all going to be gone in a matter of minutes and there's nothing I can do about it.'_

Suddenly Lucy began to feel hot as a strange burning sensation began to flow through her veins,

' _ **The fuck you mean there's nothing you can do?!'**_

Lucy was startled out of her inner thoughts as a new aggressive voice made itself known, was she slowly losing her mind?

' _There's nothing I can do…I'm weak and pathetic just like he said. I'm going to die here and everyone I love will never see me again.'_

' _ **That's fucking bullshit and you know it!'**_

' _I don't understand…'_

' _ **What happened to the strong, independent and confident Lucy who learned to never take shit from anyone?!'**_

' _I've never been like that…'_

' _ **That's a god damn lie and you know it…if Erza heard you just now she would kick your ass from here all the way to the gym only to kick your ass even more as she beats all the self-defense lessons into your stupid brain all over again.'**_

Lucy tensed slightly at the mere thought of the intimidating woman and her harsh teachings to make sure Lucy knew how to fight. The pain she is feeling now is nothing compared to that woman's vigorous routines.

' _You may have a point…'_

' _ **Of course I do, I am you after all.'**_

' _ **Now what are you gonna do?'**_

' _ **Are you going to continue to allow this disgusting man to violate you or are you going to fight back!'**_

With a sudden burst of courage Lucy balled her fist and with as much force as she could muster up she slammed her fist into Jude's jaw, stunning him just enough for her to be able to wriggle free from his grasp. She ignored the stabbing pain of her broken ribs as she shot to her feet and turned to run but before she could make it but 3 steps a blinding pain shot from her right hip and launched straight down her leg. Jude had stabbed her, making her fall to the ground once again. She gritted her teeth as more tears streamed out of her eyes, she applied as much pressure to the open wound as she could, staining her hands red.

"YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN GET AWAY FROM ME YOU FILTHY LITTLE WHORE! HOW DARE YOU EVEN THINK TO STRIKE ME! I'll just have to make sure you can't do it again all the while I can also make sure that you NEVER get to play on your precious guitars ever again." Jude chuckled evilly as he reached for a rather large looking rock lying next to them.

Lucy's eyes bugged out of her skull as more panic began to flood her system, "NO! PLEASE NO! ANYTHING BUT THAT I BEG YOU! WITHOUT MY ABILITY TO PLAY I'M NOTHING! PLEASE DON'T TAKE THAT WAY! PLEASE!" She shouted and begged as she tried desperately to get away but it was too late.

Jude -once again- drove his knife into her flesh, embedding the blade to the hilt into her right shoulder, he had pinned the upper portion her right arm down with his knee and proceeded to smash her forearm with the rock he had picked up.

Lucy screamed in complete anguish as she felt the bones in her arm snap and break the more he brought the rock down on her arm while simultaneously felt the steady flow of life giving liquid seeping out of the wound around the knife still buried her shoulder.

' _no….why is this happening to me? What have I done to deserve this torture? Without my music what am I? A nobody that's what...a talentless, broken, nobody who will never amount to anything. Just give up already, he's already taken the most important thing away from you, why bother living now?'_

' _ **SHUT UP!'**_

' _ **So what…he broke your arm, it will heal.'**_

' _ **Get the fuck back up and fight!'**_

' _ **You've already proven once that you won't go down without a fight, why the hell are you giving up now?!'**_

' _He's too strong now…I don't have my dominate hand anymore…'_

' _ **Sounds like a useless excuse to me…'**_

Lucy was so busy with her inner thoughts that she didn't even realize that Jude had finished abusing her arm and was about to move into position violate her most intimate place.

' _ **SNAP OUT OF IT DUMBASS!'**_

' _ **HE'S ABOUT TO RAPE YOU AND YOU'RE TOO BUSY WALLOWING IS SELF FUCKING PITY TO PAY ATTENTION!'**_

Jude had ripped the flimsy piece of lace that was shielding her most private area from the world around her only to violently shove two fingers inside of her.

Lucy screamed in pure agony as it felt like her insides were being torn apart.

' _ **FUCKING FIGHT HIM!'**_

' _ **GET AWAY!'**_

' _ **DON'T LET HIM TAKE ANYMORE FROM YOU!'**_

He was harshly pumping his fingers in and out of her as she just sobbed.

' _I can't…it hurts so much…it hurts too much…I can't move.'_

' _ **LIAR!'**_

' _ **I KNOW YOU HAVE FIGHT LEFT IN YOU!'**_

' _ **DON'T LET HIM TAKE FROM YOU WHAT IS YOURS TO GIVE TO WHOM YOU TRULY LOVE!'**_

' _ **If you die here, Natsu and Gray will never know how you feel about them. Is that what you truly want? To leave them heartbroken and never knowing what happened to you or how you feel?'**_

' _NO! Of course I don't want that! I want them…I need them both in my life. They make waking up each and every morning a blast and I couldn't imagine a life without them!'_

' _ **What about everyone else?'**_

' _ **Do you really want to destroy your family at FC?'**_

' _ **Do you really want to leave them alone…to never know what happened to you?'**_

' _ **After everything they have done for you…after everything they've sacrificed for you…THIS is how you are going to repay them?!'**_

' _ **BY GIVING UP JUST LIKE THAT!?'**_

"NO!" Lucy suddenly screamed out, she used her left hand to smash -once again- into Jude's face and she scrambled to stand back up, completely ignoring the pain throughout her entire body, completely ignoring the slick feeling of blood as it poured out of her wounds and the painful burning of violation between her legs.

Jude glared at her from his spot below her, "YOU FUCKING LITTLE BI- "

Lucy cut him off with a powerful kick to his head leaving him dizzy and seeing stars.

' _ **RUN!'**_

Lucy turned and with a massive surge of adrenaline now pumping through her veins -thanks to the aggressive voice- she took off in a dead sprint. She couldn't feel the burning of her lungs as she gasped and wheezed for air, she couldn't feel the stabbing in her hip the more the pushed her body to run faster. She couldn't feel the throbbing of shoulder or her broken arm as she shielded it tightly against her body in hopes of keeping more damage from affecting it. Her body had gone completely numb as she ran for her life.

She made a mistake though and looked behind her only for her heart to drop all the way to her feet, Jude was chasing her…and he was catching up fast.

' _ **DON'T FUCKING LOOK BACK!'**_

She turned her attention back to look in front of her.

' _ **KEEP RUNNING!'**_

She felt even more adrenaline being pushed through her veins as new life giving energy was spent to move even faster.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN GET AWAY FROM ME YOU LITTLE SLUT! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU AGAIN YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET EVER HITTING ME!" Jude roared as he sprinted after the panic stricken girl.

' _ **GET TO FC!'**_

' _ **GET TO YOUR FAMILY!'**_

' _ **THEY WILL PROTECT YOU!'**_

Lucy continued to push her body beyond its limits as she finally seen the building come into view.

' _ **THERE IT IS!'**_

' _ **RUN!'**_

' _ **DON'T STOP!'**_

' _ **DON'T LOOK BACK!'**_

' _ **GET TO YOUR FAMILY!'**_

' _ **THEY WILL SAVE YOU!'**_

' _ **RUN!'**_

Hope welled up in her chest the closer she got, she felt her blurring tears sliding across her face from the wind whipping them back. Her heart was hammering painfully in her chest as she pushed the last amounts of energy she had to make it inside.

' _ **KEEP GOING!'**_

' _ **JUST A LITTLE MORE!'**_

Everything began to go in slow motion as she tucked her head down and slammed her left shoulder into the double doors leading inside the club.

' _ **SCREAM!'**_

' _ **SCREAM NOW!'**_

' _ **CALL FOR YOUR FAMILY!'**_

The voice was yelling inside her head as she slowly fell through the doors and landed harshly on the wooden floor below. She shot back up to her knees peering behind her at the slow motion running Jude snarling at her, coming closer and closer to her.

' _ **SCREAM NOW!'**_

Lucy turned her head back around to see her family's heads slowly turning in the direction of the double doors, she sucked in a massive amount of air, ignoring the pain of her broken ribs.

' _ **NOW!'**_

' _ **DO IT NOW!'**_

' _ **CALL FOR YOUR BROTHERS!'**_

She screamed out at the top of her lungs, "BIG BROTHEEEERRRRS!"

Everything went back to normal speed and Lucy suddenly yelped out in pain as Jude grabbed a hand full of her golden locks yanking her backwards and towards the double doors again. He pulled her head and body back with enough force that he slammed her back against the now closed doors, as soon as she hit the doors his fist collided with her jaw splitting her lip open again, she could feel the steady stream of blood slowly falling from the new wound on her lip as it dripped off her chin.

She watched helplessly as he raised his fist to slam into her again but what happened next was nothing but a blur to Lucy, she suddenly seen a flash of yellow –almost like lightning- fly past her ripping Jude away from her body. She fell forwards and with no strength left to catch herself she just braced for impact, only the pain of her fall never came.

Instead she found herself in unfamiliar muscular and very warm arms that pulled her tightly to a firm chest, she winced slightly as she felt the person accidently brush the blade in her shoulder. She could smell the distinct smell of smoke or maybe a campfire with a hint of something spicy coming off this unknown person and it was strangely soothing.

Very slowly, she raised her head up to look over the shoulder of her savior and was met with a wall of backs and clenched fists who she immediately recognized as Jellal, Gildarts, Elfman, Gajeel, two more that had spiky black hair and there was another one but she couldn't see his hair color without completely twisting her body and further injuring herself, so she decided it wasn't important to know who those 3 new people were.

That being said though…just whose arms _were_ she in if the 3 strangers and all of her big brothers and uncle were acting as a shield for her? She couldn't see anyone else either since her back was too the front doors and her front was blocked by a single chest and the bodies of her family.

She can hear the foggy yelling voice of someone and a fight going on but she can't focus her mind to be able to hear anything that is until the unknown person suddenly spoke, "L-Layla?" the voice was deep, mature and husky sounding, definitely not a voice she has heard before.

Lucy furrowed her brows as she tried to process with her exhausted mind exactly what this mysterious person had said…Layla? Why did this man call for her mother? Just who is he?

Lucy slowly and carefully turned her head to look at the man face to face and she was not ready for what finally came into her view.

Sporting a head of unruly flame red hair with some slight greying here and there but nothing outrageous, deep piercing emerald eyes that were so focused on her face that she swore his eyes were slits -she knows these eyes from somewhere she just can't seem to place it just yet- a deep gouge of a scar split down from just above his eyebrow and cut straight down to below the high cheek bone of his right eye, his skin showed aging as some slight wrinkle lines were found but it was still pulled tightly against his face giving him a youthful appearance, thin but soft looking chapped lips leading down to a sharp chiseled jaw line and muscular neck muscles. He was -without a doubt in Lucy's mind- a very handsome older gentleman and he saved her from collapsing and further harming herself on the harsh wooden floor below.

Suddenly the mysterious man brought his very large calloused hands to cup both of her cheeks as his intense green eyes continued to gaze into her chocolate colored ones, "Layla? It's me…don't you remember me?" he suddenly questioned her and again she furrowed her brows, why does he keep calling her Layla?

Lucy dipped her head down and coughed feeling and tasting blood flood her mouth once again and she was helpless to wipe the steady flow of blood slowly leaking from the corner of her mouth along with the flow that was still dripping from her busted lip. She was still losing a steady amount of blood from her hip and shoulder wound but she couldn't bring herself to care at the moment, she needed to figure out who this man was first.

She looked back up at the strange man and with a very sore and hoarse voice she asked, "h-h-how…do you…know m-my mama?"

She watched as the man's eyebrows shot up into his hair and his mouth gapped open as he sucked in a large amount of air, "Your mama? Layla is your mom?" he whispered and Lucy slowly nodded her head up and down once.

She continued to stare at this eyes, she knows these eyes but why?

Then it suddenly hits her…pink hair…not red…the same intense emerald eyes…no scar on his face but on the side of his neck and Lucy's eyes went wide, she slowly brought her left hand up to cradle his face startling him for a second, she whispered out, "Natsu?"

The man's face softened beneath her hand, "My son." He answered, she knows who this man is now, "Igneel…" she whispered out.

She watched as Igneel let out a shaky breath and slowly nod, he very gently set her down on the wooden floor and turned his body to the wall of backs behind him, "Natsu, Gray." He called

Suddenly said men turned around from their positions guarding Lucy and she watched as both sets of eyes landed on her only for them to both widen. They were at her side in a mere second flat kneeling in front of her, "Lucy…" they both choked out as they reached for her face.

Lucy couldn't take it anymore and burst into tears, "N-Natsu…Gray…y-you're really here…" it was almost too good to be true, they really were here and kneeling right in front of her, both of them had one hand on her cheeks as they took in her horrid appearance.

"Oh gods Lucy…what happened to you?" Gray whispered out while he ran a thumb along her cheek trying to wipe away the steady flow of tears that were drenching them.

Natsu didn't say anything, instead he gritted his teeth and carefully moved so that he was standing right behind her, he very slowly put an arm around her back and another underneath her legs and gently lifted her from the floor. She was shaking uncontrollably and she was very pale, it was clear to them that she has lost a lot of blood and is in need of help right away.

Natsu completely ignored the wetness of her blood that was now seeping into his shirt as he moved to walk her to the bar where the sobbing faces of Mira and Erza were waiting, Gray followed very closely beside him as he kept a hand on Lucy's head.

They had to get the knife out before it did any more damage and the only one capable of this task was Natsu's mom seeing as she is a doctor.

Luckily for them she was already prepared, "bring her over here Natsu and lay her down carefully on the table." She commanded the young man, Ur was close by awaiting orders from Grand with what she needed.

When Natsu came closer to the table though the older women weren't ready for who they seen as they simultaneously thought _'Layla'_ when Lucy's face came into view.

It was a short lived thought because almost as soon as Natsu set Lucy down her shaking became almost violent and her eyes glazed over and dilated.

"Shit…" Grand curse under her breath, "We need to get her to the emergency room NOW!" She shouted out startling everyone around her.

"Mom? What's goin' on? What's wrong with Lucy?!" Natsu frantic voice rang out

"She's going into shock; we have to go now! Ur you drive, Natsu, Gray carefully pick her up so we can leave." Grand barked orders and the 3 complied without question, rushing the slowly fading Lucy out of the building.

Mira and Erza weren't far behind them, refusing to leave Lucy's side ever again, they were beating themselves up for not listening to their instincts and going after her in the first place, if they had just listened to themselves she wouldn't have gotten hurt. They will never forgive themselves for allowing this to happen to her and now they fear that Lucy will shut down for good this time.

Igneel watched as his family rushed the abused girl out, he was still in a daze from the news Lucy gave him and wasn't quite sure what to make of it just yet. He stood beside Silver and watched as Gildarts and Elfman had to peel Laxus off of the now almost unrecognizable man sprawled out in a pool of his own blood on the floor.

Silver leaned in closer to Igneel and whispered with slight hope in his voice, "Layla?"

Igneel sighed and shook his head, turning to look at him, "Layla's daughter"

He watched as Silver's face paled and his eyes grew wide going through the same distraught feelings that he had went through not but moments ago.

"Makarov has a lot of explaining to do when this is all over." Igneel growled out through gritted teeth watching Silver sternly nod his head in agreement.

He turned to look for said older man and found him by the bar with his daughter close by, he had a phone to his ear, most likely getting the police here ASAP before his grandson killed whoever this man was.

Igneel sighed dropping his head to look towards the floor but that action only seemed to enrage him even more when he took in the state of his designer clothing. His shirt and pants were soaked with blood and it only seemed to piss him off that much more knowing it was Layla's daughters blood that was staining his clothes.

Gritting his teeth again and allowing his hereditary longer and sharper canines to show, Igneel slowly stepped towards the beaten monster with Silver right at his side.

"You got some nerve beating a helpless girl right in front of us…" Igneel snarled at the man as he watched him pick himself up off the floor and slowly move to a sitting position.

"Just who the hell do you think you are?! And what exactly could you possibly have against that small girl?!" Silver growled out right along with Igneel's rage.

The two grown men only seen red when the man's response to them was to laugh.

"Just what the fuck do you think is so funny you sadistic bastard!?" Igneel roared out

"I see you two haven't changed at all throughout the years…still trying to play the hero. That didn't work out so well for you 17 years ago, what makes you think it will now?" the man chuckled darkly eyeing the two in front of him.

Igneel and Silver gave him a confused look only succeeding in making the beaten man laugh harder, "I suppose you probably wouldn't recognize me, that enraged young man over there did give me quite a beating." He continued to laugh and point in the direction of Laxus as Gildarts and Elfman had to -once again- hold him back from finishing him off.

"My my boy, you should really learn to control that rage of yours." He joked out grinning when Laxus shot him a murderous look.

"Just who the hell are you?" Igneel finally questioned, sick of getting the run around from this man.

The man on the floor looked back at Igneel and Silver giving the men a sickening grin, "Oh Igneel, you two know me VERY well. After all I am the man that stole something very precious away from you and you couldn't do anything to stop me as I made **HER** mine."

Igneel and Silver suddenly paled and swallowed thickly.

"Ahh, it seems you two remember now." He laughed at their distraught faces

Igneel and Silver regained their composure quickly though and shot the man lethal glares as they hissed out through clenched teeth, "Jude Heartfilia…"

Jude mockingly bowed from his sitting position, "the one and only."

Suddenly Silver quickly moved to stand directly in front of Jude grabbing the man by the collar of his jacket and lifting him in the air, "Where the FUCK is Layla?! I swear if you hurt her in anyway I'll- "

"You'll what?! Beat me?" Jude scoffed, "I haven't done anything to **my** Layla. You should be pointing those glares of yours to that little bitch you had carted off."

Silver and Igneel both flinched at the mentioning of Layla being Jude's but then gave equal confused looks.

Jude tsked before he again laughed in their faces, "oh wow…this is almost too much! The looks on your faces!" Jude clutched his stomach as he continued to laugh from his position against the wall in Silver's hands, "you have no idea do you!"

Igneel stepped up beside Silver and snarled, "just what the hell are you talking about?!"

Jude completely ignored the two men in front of him and turned to look directly at Makarov, "How does it feel to have kept this delicious secret from them all these years Makarov? I bet it's been eating away at you hasn't it?" He grinned sadistically at the old man's pained face making both Igneel and Silver look in his direction.

"Makarov?" Igneel questioned

Makarov let out a pained sigh before he stood and walked to the three standing in front of the doors to the bar, "Layla made me promise to keep a secret from you two…a secret that has been harder to bare throughout the years."

Silver let go of Jude making him drop back to the floor, "just what did Layla make you promise not to tell us?" he asked in a scarily calm voice

Makarov sighed once again, "Layla had gotten pregnant…with Jude's child before they married."

Igneel and Silver both staggered backwards, feeling like they both took a blow to the stomach making them feel sick, "w-what?" Igneel stuttered out as he looked to the older man with wide eyes, "that's why she stayed? That's why she married him?!" Igneel's voice grew louder as he pointed to the man smirking in their directions.

Makarov could only nod his head to confirm what he had said, Igneel balled his fists, "Where. Is. She?" he growled out.

Jude again tsked, "she's no longer with us, **my** Layla passed away over 12 years ago and that little bitch is the reason for her death." He answered before Makarov could open his mouth to speak.

This time Igneel and Silver collapsed and fell to their knees in shock, their eyes burned with unshed tears, "she can't be gone…she just can't be…" Igneel choked out

Makarov rushed to the two broken men and stood before them, he placed a hand on each of their shoulders before he spoke with a calm voice, "Layla did indeed pass away and I am truly sorry to the both of you but Jude is wrong about one thing. Lucy had nothing to do with Layla's death, Layla was hit by a drunk driver and killed on impact."

"BULLSHIT!" Jude suddenly roared out startling everyone, "if that little rat was never born, Layla wouldn't have had to get a job to make more money to pay for that needy little whore! Then she wouldn't have d-" Jude was suddenly silenced by a harsh fist, Igneel's enraged face and panting lungs being the only thing that he could see, "that little GIRL is your own flesh and blood! How can you treat her so cruelly?! How can you sit there and show no remorse for the awful things you did to her?!"

Jude slowly picked himself back up off the floor, he spat out the blood that had accumulated from the punch Igneel threw, "that rat got everything she deserved." He answered

Before Igneel could attack the man again the doors burst open revealing several armed police officers, they quickly took control of the situation making every one step away from Jude's bruised and bloodied form.

* * *

After several hours of questioning everyone and gathering the security footage of the entire encounter Jude was placed in handcuffs and carted off to jail.

Igneel was sitting outside the bar along the wall looking up at the moon and stars hanging above when Silver decided to join him, "some welcome home party huh…"

Igneel scoffed looking down at the ground, "yea…"

Silver sighed, "I'm still not really sure how to take all this…"

Igneel remained quiet, not really sure what to say or do either.

Silver turned his head to look at his dear friend, "We should go to the hospital…those boys will need us right now…besides," he paused and looked up at the blackened sky, "we need to be with Layla's daughter…we owe her that much." he whispered out

Igneel sighed, "she should've been ours Silver…" he felt tears burning his eyes once again and he looked at Silver, "Lucy should have been ours."

Silver placed a hand on his shoulder, "I know Igg…come on. Let's get to the hospital."

 _ **~MAGNOLIA GENERAL HOSPITAL~**_

Grand, Ur, Gray, Natsu, Mira and Erza were all sitting in the waiting room when Igneel and Silver walked in immediately walking to their waiting family.

"Any news?" Igneel asked

Grand and Ur walked up to the elder males pulling them both into hugs, "they had to take Lucy back for emergency surgery…as soon as we made it to the hospital she vomited blood and they rushed her away. We haven't heard anything since they said she was in surgery." Grand informed them making their hearts drop.

"Gray and Natsu have been wrecks and Mira and Erza only stopped crying about an hour ago, finally falling asleep." Ur spoke next

Igneel and Silver looked towards their sons sitting along a wall next to each other on the floor, both were blankly staring up at the ceiling.

Both fathers sighed before kissing their wives and heading to their depressed son's.

Crouching down, they both placed a hand on their son's knees, "Hey boys." Igneel said gaining their attentions.

"Hey dad…" Natsu and Gray said at the same time.

"You guys alright?" Silver asked

Natsu and Gray both shook their heads as they looked at their father's with pleading faces, "Lucy's gonna be alright right dad? She's gonna make it right?" Natsu choked out and Igneel immediately pulled him into a hug, "I don't know son…" he answered honestly, "but I hope she does."

"We just don't understand what's going on…Lucy never told us anything…" Gray whispered out and Silver placed a hand on his head, "I'm sure she had her reasons for not telling you guys."

"It's going to be alright boys, you'll see…" Igneel attempted to reassure them, praying to the gods above that she pulls through not only for their boys but for all of them.

The door to the waiting room suddenly opened and Makarov, Laxus, Gildarts, Jellal, Elfman and Gajeel all walked in.

"Any news?" Makarov questioned everyone only to receive head shakes.

Makarov sighed, "I see…please everyone come sit down…we have much we need to tell you about our dear Lucy."

* * *

 _ **~AN~**_

 _ **Ok, so there was this chapter….**_

 _ **Yea…**_

 _ **Wow…**_

 _ **Let me know how I did.**_

 _ **Until next time!**_

 _ **Much love from a tkitty!**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**~AN~**_

 _ **Ya know…I actually greatly appreciate y'all's reviews.**_

 _ **I really do.**_

 _ **Seriously makes me feel good to know my brain isn't too messed up and you actually enjoy my sad attempt at writing stories.**_

 _ **I noticed that I kiiiiiiinda left you with another cliffhanger and I actually didn't mean too this time…it just sorta happened that way lol.**_

 _ **Apparently I'm really good at leaving you hanging and not even realize it…oops :)**_

 _ **I will say though; I've actually enjoyed working on this story again.**_

 _ **Anyways.**_

 _ **Chapter 9 y'all**_

* * *

1:00 am…still no signs from the doctors that took Lucy away from everyone.

They still have no idea if she made it or not…and it's tearing them apart.

They don't even know what was wrong with her to begin with…it all happened so fast that nobody had the thought process to ask why they were suddenly rushing her away from them and why she had to go for surgery.

All they can do is continue to wait and hope that their precious little one will pull through whatever hardship she is being tested on…and still smile in the end.

* * *

Makarov had sat the Dragneel and Fullbuster families down for a solid two hours and informed them of everything. He gave them in full detail -finally- what actually happened with Layla all those years ago and with her disappearance up to what Lucy had told them about her mother. The families were not happy to hear what became of their dear loved one in their absence, Igneel and Silver blamed themselves for not making her leave with them when they had the chance. Because of their weakness, Layla died…and they didn't even know she was gone. Makarov never once blamed them though and never will but they will, they will live with the guilt of leaving her behind for the remainder of their days.

When the families were finally calm again and willing to listen, Makarov told them the story of Lucy Heartfilia. Of all her great struggles and horrid upbringings, of her great successes and drive that she was able to put forth to make herself better, of her ability to open up and release all of her past to live with them in the future. He told them of her bravery and fighting spirit that she more than showed just mere hours ago. He told them -much to their great relief- that Lucy was all Layla and nothing Jude, that she has a heart of gold, a smile that was brighter than the sun and can light up and lift any spirit just by being in the same room and not to mention her sheer determination to put all others before herself in all situations with her willingness to help where ever help is needed.

She was like an angel sent to help them, to keep them in the light and they would forever be selfish and keep her all to themselves, the rest of the world would just have to accept it. They were family after all.

To Igneel, Silver, Grand, and Ur…it's like Layla never left, her spirit is still living on inside of Lucy and now…they will never let her leave their side again. Determined to make it up to her from all those years ago, they would make sure Lucy knew she had a forever lasting family with the Dragneel and Fullbuster's.

To Natsu and Gray however, they didn't take well to Lucy's history. They were supposed to be her best friends and yet they had no idea just how hard she actually had it…that she actually had to fight for survival every single day until the day she was saved. She was always so happy, so bubbly, so full of life that it was very difficult to picture her as anything else and they whole heartedly believed that they wouldn't have thought it true…if they didn't witness it first hand with their own eyes at FC.

This night was a true eye opener for the young men, and only now did they truly realize just how blessed their lives really were…to have not only riches beyond their wildest dreams but to also have such amazing, loving and caring families. They also felt disgusted with themselves at how they were living…with how many women they've been with…with how many broken hearts they've left in their wake. How could they say they were in love with Lucy when they treated women the way they did? Like they were nothing more than a pair of legs to wrap around their waists…

Natsu was worse off…he kept going back to that morning he called to video chat with Lucy…he completely ignored her the moment that other woman called to him and flashed her fully nude self to him. He allowed himself to be seduced right in front of Lucy and he couldn't even remember the woman's name…she was just another one of his random hook-ups who he kicked out the moment he was finished with her. He remembered the hurt, the sadness and -dare he say it- the longing in Lucy's eyes so vividly so that he cringed again at just the thought of her disappointed face before she cut the feed.

Natsu and Gray were hurting her…and they were too busy satisfying their own selfish needs to take notice. Now what Gajeel had said to them tonight made since…and they did deserve a good pounding from Lucy's metal covered brother.

How were they ever going to be able to make it up to her?

They had no idea…but they would figure it out, even if it took YEARS…they would earn her forgiveness and her love that they now so desperately wanted. They didn't deserve her…not in any form of the word…but that didn't stop their selfish feelings, they would prove themselves to her, make her see that they could change if it was for her. As far as they were concerned Lucy was already _**theirs**_ and they were going to make damn sure that she felt their love was for her and ONLY her from now on.

* * *

Natsu and Gray stood said by side with each other while they looked out one of the windows in the waiting room, everyone else had chosen to doze off and sleep after Makarov had dropped that bomb on their world. The two couldn't sleep though, they had too much to think about and too many plans to try and come up with to make it up to their dear Lucy.

"I still can't believe that she had such a horrible life before becoming a fairy…kinda makes you pissed off with yourself at how much we've taken our lives for granted." Gray whispered while leaning on the sill of the window.

Natsu sighed beside him, "aye…can't believe how stupid we've been." He whispered back.

Gray turned his head to look at Natsu, "we have to make it up to her. We have to show her how much we care for her…how much we love her."

Natsu turned his head to look at Gray with a sad face, "yea I hear ya…but do we really deserve her love? Do we really deserve to love her? I just keep goin' back to all those times we called her and we still had women over…just how long have we been hurtin' her and didn't even realize it Gray?" Natsu whispered out again, lowering his head and allowing his bangs to cover his eyes.

Gray sighed and placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder, "I don't know man…I really don't…but that doesn't mean we should give up right? Even if she doesn't love us the same way we love her we still have to have her as our best friend. I don't know about you but I don't know what I would do if I didn't get to see her smiling face every day."

Natsu huffed out a small laugh before rolling his head back up to look at Gray, "aye…I guess your right…I couldn't imagen a life without her in it either."

Gray scoffed, "course I'm right" he grinned when Natsu glared at him, "whadda ya say brother? You ready to win her heart?" Gray raised his fist

Natsu chuckled before bumping his own fist against Grays, "aye sir."

Natsu and Gray were startled out of their little moment when the waiting room doors opened and revealed a very well-known man dressed in green surgeon's scrubs, "LOKE!" Gray and Natsu shouted in unison startling everyone else awake.

"DAMN IT YOU TWO!"

They boys completely ignored the grumpy rant of Igneel and rushed to stand in front of the surgeon, "What happened Loke?! Is Lucy ok?!" Natsu immediately started questioning the exhausted looking male before them.

That seemed to snap everyone awake and they jumped up rushing to crowd around him while bombarding him with multiple questions of 'is Lucy ok?!' and 'what happened?!' before Makarov took matters into his own hands, "THAT'S ENOUGH! Everyone back away and please sit back down." He commanded.

Makarov had waited until everyone was calm again and either chose to sit or stand close to the surgeon, he took a deep breath in and looked towards Loke, "my boy, please tell us what happened? Is our Lucy ok?"

Loke heavily sighed while running a hand up and down his tired face, "I regret now that we weren't able to make it to the welcome home party...I'm not going to ask what happened though…just going over all of her injuries told me more than I would ever want to know…" he started while slowly rolling his eyes over everyone's pleading faces, "she will make it though." And he was met with many loud sighs and relieved tears.

Igneel and Silver walked up to their boys and placed their hands on each of their shoulders, Natsu and Gray hadn't even realized that they were shaking nor the tears that were rolling down their faces until their fathers startled them out of their dazes.

"Please Loke, what happened?" Igneel asked softly keeping his hands on both Natsu and Gray while Silver did the same.

Loke grabbed one of the waiting room chairs and placed it directly in the middle of everyone then heavily plopped his body down, "she had internal bleeding, that's why she vomited all of that blood soon as you guys pulled up. That's why we had to rush her away without telling you why, her life was literally on the line…any second longer and she wouldn't have made it."

Everyone loudly gasped

"oh gods…" Mira whispered into her hands as even more tears fell from her eyes, Laxus pulled her body to his chest and let her cry on him.

Erza gritted her teeth and balled her fists, "what caused it?" she calmly asked even though she too had tears drenching her face. Jellal wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

"Blunt force trauma." Was Loke's quiet answer

Grand sighed, "that explains why she suddenly went into shock then."

Loke nodded his head, "we were able to find the cause of the bleeding and quickly closed it off without a hitch. She did lose a vast amount of blood though and had to be given several donor bags to make up for it." He explained and watched as everyone had different looks for the situation.

All of the males -aside from Makarov, Igneel, Silver and Gildarts- were gritting their teeth and balling their fists, each one had murderous looks on their faces.

Mira and Erza had fallen to the ground and were sobbing into their hands while whispering that they should of left, they should of went to get her instead of waiting. Grand and Ur had walked up to stand on either side of Makarov while they listened to Loke, both with sad looks on their faces while their hearts went out to their broken family.

Loke took a deep breath in and released it through his nose, "after we closed off the incision we made we inspected the rest of her body. She has a wound on the back of her right hip caused by a knife, most likely the same knife we pulled out of her shoulder, she also has 3 broken ribs that will take time to heal and a busted lip that we had to stitch close. Her arm though…it looked like someone took a sledgehammer to it…both bones were shattered and I actually feared that she would lose it but we were able to put all the pieces back together with plates and screws."

"Will she be able to play again?" Gajeels gruff voice spoke out, "y'all know how important her guitars are to her…if she can't play anymore…" he couldn't even finish his sentence before he too had tears flowing.

"Don't worry, as long as she heals properly and does physical therapy she will be able to play still." Loke reassured them and again he was met with thankful sighs.

Gildarts had noticed that the more Loke talked the more troubled his face became, "there's something else you're not telling us isn't there Loke?"

Loke slowly nodded and ran a hand through his wild orange hair, "aye…there is something else…but I'm afraid to tell you." he whispered

"Please Loke…we need to know everything that happened to little one before she made it back to us. We need to know what we need to do to help her through whatever she's been though." Elfman pleaded

Loke swallowed thickly, "I'm sorry…I'm so so sorry…I really don't-" he choked, "I really d-don't want to tell you…but s-she…she has- "he paused, dropping his head to look to the ground, attempting recollect himself and gather his thoughts.

Makarov stepped up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "please Loke, we need to know."

He took a deep breath in to calm himself down and began speaking again but didn't look back up, "t-t-there was vaginal trauma…we found small rips and tears throughout her canal and she has hand shaped bruising on both of her inner thighs…s-she must have fought back though because her hymen is still intact and she has a small fracture to her left hand that was obviously caused by her punching whoever did this to her with enough force that she almost broke her hand."

Silence fell upon the waiting room as everyone tried to process this new information only for it to abruptly be disturbed by loud choking sobs, Natsu and Gray had both fallen to their hands and knees and cried…unable to handle anything anymore. Igneel and Silver were quick to react, dropping to their knees and pulling their sobbing sons into their chests, "easy boys easy…I know it's hard…just breath." Silver tried to calmly say to both of them while clutching onto Gray's shivering form though he wasn't fairing any better, everyone at this point broke down. They just couldn't understand how someone could be so sick and twisted to torture a sweet and innocent girl, it's just inconceivable.

Makarov cleared his throat and wiped his tears, "can we see her Loke?" he quietly asked

Loke raised his head back up to look at the pitiful state of his family, "you can but only briefly, she's still in ICU." He stated before standing up

Makarov nodded his head before turning to look at his children, "who would like to accompany me to quickly see Lucy?"

Igneel and Silver both stood dragging their boys up with them and walked to the older man, Gajeel and Gildarts were next to walk up followed by Elfman. Grand and Ur decided to stay behind to help Laxus and Jellal calm down the sobbing Mira and Erza.

"Alright follow me." Loke said as he walked towards the waiting rooms doors again.

The small group followed the lion maned surgeon through winding white hallways and passing nurses before finally coming to a stop in front of a single wooden door.

"I can only give you guys about 5 minutes, your technically not supposed to be back here but I know you need to see her. She will still be sedated until tomorrow morning so please be careful with her and mind the bandages, we don't want her wounds to reopen." Loke informed the group and they all numbly nodded their understandings before following Makarov into the small sterile room.

What they had seen on the other side of that door only proved to break their hearts even more.

Lucy was peacefully sleeping away, she had a tube around her face that connected to her nose to give her a steady stream of oxygen and they happily watched her chest rise and fall giving them the peace of mind that they needed that she was in fact still with them. They walked closer to her small bed completely encircling it with their bodies as they took in her form that they could see, her entire bottom jaw from left to right was covered in a nasty shade of purple and just below her lip was the set of stitches that Loke had informed them about, they could see her shoulder tightly bandaged with white wrappings and her arm -that was resting across her stomach- was plastered in a large white cast. They could see the top of her chest was also tightly wrapped with white bandages, most likely to give her broken ribs some extra support to help them heal better and help her breath better. The rest of her body was covered with a hospital gown and tons of blankets.

Elfman left first, no longer able to take in her abused form as he walked away crying.

Gajeel was next, his heart shattered and he didn't even bother to hide his tears as they fell for his sister.

Gildarts carefully walked up to the sleeping girl and leaned down to plant a kiss to her forehead, "don't you worry kid, I'll make sure that bastard never gets out for what he's done to you." he whispered to her before he left.

Makarov sighed with a clear heavy heart before placing his hand on top of Lucy's head, "my poor child…I am so sorry that you have had to endure such hardships once again but we all promise that it will never have a chance to repeat itself. You just work on feeling better while we take care of everything else." Makarov gently patted her head before he turned and walked out of the small room.

Igneel and Silver had moved to stand on either side of her while Natsu and Gray continued to stand at the foot of her bed.

Igneel placed a hand on her head, "hey darlin'…I know we haven't had a chance to be properly introduced yet but I want you to know that we will be by your side throughout this entire ordeal. You're not alone and we promise that we will protect you."

Silver merely placed a hand on top of her left hand and smiled sadly down at Lucy, "we will be back, hopefully you will be awake so we can talk to you. Everyone says that you're an amazing young lady and we cannot wait to get to know you."

He gently squeezed her hand before he let go, he and Igneel walked back to their boys, "make it quick you two. We will be waiting outside." Igneel stated giving Natsu's shoulder one last squeeze before Silver and him walked out and closed the door behind them.

Natsu and Gray slowly walked to stand on either side of her bed and just looked at her through their blurring tears, "gods Lucy…why did this have to happen to you? Of all people…why you?" Gray whispered out while slowly raising a hand to gently rest on her left cheek.

Natsu let out a quiet sob, "I'm s-so sorry Luce…I'm so sorry…" He followed Gray's lead and place his hand on her other cheek as they both gently caressed her face.

"We won't leave you…ever…you're going to get so sick and tired of us because we will never leave you alone again." Natsu whispered before removing his hand and carefully leaned down to place a soft kiss to her cheek.

"We swear we will make up for all the heartache we put you through, that's a promise." Gray said next removing his hand and placing a kiss on her other cheek as well.

"We will be back first thing in the morning Luce, I hope you're awake by then so we can see your smile again." Natsu stated before he and Gray walked away and left her to sleep off her exhausting ordeal.

When they closed the door behind them Igneel, Silver and Loke were waiting outside for them, "Why don't you guys go home. Get cleaned up and get some sleep." Loke had gestured to Natsu, Gray and Igneel's clothing that was still caked with Lucy's dried blood.

Natsu looked down at this destroyed clothes, "oh…right…" he completely forgot about the state of his clothing and by the looks of it, Igneel and Gray did as well.

"Get some rest guys, she's going to be out for the rest of the night like I told you. We plan to move her out of ICU and into her own room in the morning, when she has her own room you can stay as long as you want with her then."

The 4 men simply nodded their heads before following the surgeon to the main doors of the hospital. Ur and Grand were already waiting outside for them in their cars after helping everyone else leave.

"If anything by chance happens you and Makarov will be the first ones I call, I swear." Loke stated while looking at Igneel.

"Thank you Loke and thank you for saving her life. This family is greatly indebted to you." Igneel said while firmly shaking his hand.

Loke smiled, "I would do anything for that princess…now go on, go home and rest. I'll be here the rest of the night to monitor her. She's in capable hands."

Igneel nodded and followed his family to their vehicles, Loke watched them drive away before turning back to the hospital. He gazed up at the large building in front of him before sighing and lowering his eyes to the ground below, "her physical wounds might heal…I'm not so sure about her mental wounds though." He whispered out to himself before walking back inside.

* * *

Then next morning Igneel and Silver had their families up and out of the house by 9 and were already making their way back to the hospital when Igneel received a call from a panicking Loke, "Loke? Is everything alright? What happened?" Natsu and Gray snapped their heads to the front seat where Igneel was to listen in on the phone call,

" _IGNEEL! Please tell me you guys are on your way here?!'_ Loke shouted through the phone

"We are; we will be there in about 10 minutes' tops. Loke what's going on?" he tried to question the frantic male again

" _Oh gods…I have no idea what happened, I went in to check on Lucy again this morning and she was fine, she was still sleeping, so I quickly took vitals from her before I left the room. About half an hour later everyone started panicking and racing to Lucy's room."_ Loke paused to catch his breath

"What happened?! Is Lucy alright?!" Igneel's frantic voice only succeeded in putting everyone else on edge, "What do you mean is Lucy alright?! DAD WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Natsu shouted from his seat in back, "Is Lucy ok?!" Gray shouted out next joining Natsu in trying to climb over to the front seat with Silver.

Grand pushed them both back, "calm down boys please, your dad needs to hear."

Natsu and Gray softly whimpered but obeyed sitting back down and quietly listened.

Loke started again, quickly explaining everything that had happened after Lucy woke up, _"She had woken up and just started screaming and fighting everyone off! No one can get near her and she keeps saying that she needs to leave, that she has to find a new place to hide so he can't find her again. I've tried to talk to her and calm her down but it's like she doesn't recognize anyone and were all the enemy! Makarov, and everyone else from last night are here and she won't even let them near her, you guys are our last option to try and get through to her, if not I'm afraid we will have to use force to stop her and that will only do more harm than good with her already fragile mind. PLEASE! We are in desperate need of your help."_ Loke begged

"Shit…we'll be there as soon as we can." Igneel immediately hung up and step on the gas

"Dad what happened? Is Lucy alright?" Gray asked again.

Igneel sighed while still keeping his eyes on the road, "Lucy is having a panic attack and thinks everyone is out to get her. No one can get through to her and Loke said if they can't calm her down soon they will have to use force and he doesn't want to do that because of her already broken mind right now. We need to get there quickly to see if we can get through to her." He explained

"Oh gods Luce…" Natsu whispered out

"Hurry dad, we have to see if we can help." Gray said

Igneel just nodded and focused back on the road, trying to get them to the hospital as soon as possible.

* * *

When Igneel finally did pull up to the hospital he didn't even get a chance to put the truck in park before Natsu and Gray bolted out and took off inside. They ran the entire way, bursting through the doors to the ICU section and ran through the familiar white hallways.

The closer they got to Lucy's room the more shouting they could hear, "NOOO! STAY AWAY! GET AWAY FROM ME! YOU HAVE TO LET ME LEAVE! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! HE KNOWS WHERE I AM! HE'S GOING TO FIND ME AGAIN AND HE'S GOING TO HURT ME AGAIN! PLEASE LET ME GO!" They heard Lucy shouting which only made them run faster.

When Lucy's room finally came into view they seen, Makarov, Laxus, Gildarts, Gajeel, Jellal, Elfman and Loke standing outside along with several nurses.

Loke turned to see the young men reach the room, "oh thank the gods, you're here finally. Please go in and see if you two can get through to her." Loke begged while shoving both of them through the barricade of people.

When they walked through the door they were greeted with the sight of Lucy plastered to the corner closest to her bed and was trying to climb up the wall in an attempt at getting away from everyone crowding around her. She was favoring her right side and kept it pressed tightly against the wall, which was understandable since that side had all the damage. Her left hand was tightly balled into a fist which she raised up and threatened anyone that dared come close to her. She was panting, trying desperately to get air into her lungs but it was proving a difficult task with her broken ribs, she was close to hyperventilating but she still refused to back down as she screamed at everyone to back away and let her go.

Mira and Erza were in the room trying to talk to her but it was only proving to be more harm than good, Mira happened to look towards the doorway just as Natsu and Gray were pushed in by Loke, "come one everyone out. Let's see if they can get through to her." Mira quickly said following Erza and several other nurses out of the room, they closed the door behind them leaving the three alone in the small room.

Natsu was the first to move slowly towards the panicking girl, "Luce? Hey it's Natsu." He tried to speak to her but she only glared at him, "stay away from me!" she hissed pushing even farther into the wall, she was on her tippy toes in a weak attempt at getting away from everyone, them included. Her sudden outburst causing him to flinch but he refused to back down as he continued his slow trek to her.

Gray was right next to Natsu when he decided to try his luck, "Lucy? Hey you remember us right? We're your best friends. You have to remember us."

Lucy's eyes still glared but they grew hopeful when they seen a slight flash of knowing and her eyes slowly started to soften, "we're your best friends Luce and we just want to help you. Please let us help you." Natsu tried again, they were slowly closing in the gap between them and the frantic girl.

"Come on Lucy, let us help you. We swear to you that we will not leave you alone." Gray stated they were closer now, only a few more steps and they would be able to touch her.

Lucy's face scrunched up again and her eyes darted between the two males closing in on her, her breathing picked up again and her heart was frantic as she tried to speak, "b-but…I have to leave…y-you don't understand, if I don't leave now he will find me and he will hurt me again…he knew…h-he knew the entire time where I was and h-he tried to kill me…I'll die if he finds me again. P-please let me go…" She begged as tears began to run down her cheeks.

Natsu and Gray's hearts were painfully squeezing the more Lucy spoke, "we won't ever let you go, you have to stay with us forever. We can protect you Luce, please let us. Please let us protect you, it's our jobs to do that." Natsu whispered out while they both slowly started raising their hands to her.

Lucy started crying, "I don't w-want to die…" was all she was able to get out before she finally raised her left hand to reach for both of them. Natsu and Gray were at her side in a second, sinking down to sit on the floor while she loudly sobbed and clung to both of them, keeping herself squished in between their bodies.

"Shh-shh, easy Luce. Were right here, right here with you. We're not going anywhere, it's ok." Natsu cooed, he had wrapped an arm underneath her chin and was gently cupping the side of her face that was pressed against Gray while wrapping his other arm around her waist, he pressed his forehead on the side of her head.

Gray had one arm around her waist as well and his other arm was resting across Natsu's as he caressed the other side of her face pressed against Natsu, his forehead was also on the other side of her head, "Natsu's right Lucy, we're here and we aren't going anywhere." He whispered into her ear.

The two didn't move an inch as Lucy desperately clung to their bodies and sobbed her heart out.

They weren't sure how long they were sitting there with Lucy but they didn't move until they heard the door to the room slowly open. Lucy tensed, squeezing them tighter and tried to push back against the wall but couldn't from where she was sitting in between them, "its ok Lucy, were right here with you. We won't let anything bad happen to you." Gray stated trying to calm her back down.

Natsu looked to the door and seen Loke poke his head in, they made eye contact and Natsu made a gesture with his head for him to come over to them. Loke nodded and fully walked in closing the door behind him, he slowly walked towards the three sitting on the floor, Lucy had buried her head into Natsu's chest trying to escape from the world.

Loke knelt down so he was eye level with her, "hey princess, you feeling better?" Lucy turned her head a little so that she could peak an eye open at Loke, she slowly nodded her head yes and the three men let out a breath they didn't even know they were all holding.

"Can we get you back into the bed?" he questioned

Lucy tightened her grip around Natsu and Gray even more and shook her head no.

Loke thought for a minuet trying to figure out the best way to get her to lay back down, the toll on her wounds was great and they didn't want any of them to take any more damage, "What if Natsu and Gray went with you? Would you lay back down then?" he tried again.

He watched as Lucy seemed to ponder the idea before she shyly nodded her head yes, Loke smiled at her before he spoke again, "alright princess, anything for you. Natsu, Gray is that ok with you guys?" They both quickly nodded their heads before slowly standing back up bringing Lucy with them, Natsu climbed into the small bed first. Gray then carefully picked Lucy up and handed him over to Natsu to help her get settled in before he too climbed into the tiny bed. It was a very tight fit but they made it work, Lucy was laying on her left side with her face cuddled into Gray's chest and her fingers that were still showing through the cast tightly gripping his shirt, she pressed her back against Natsu's chest making sure she had complete contact with both men before she allowed herself to relax and let her guard down. The three men watched as her whole ordeal finally caught up to her and her exhausted mind finally shut down as she closed her eyes and fell asleep between the two in a matter of minutes.

Loke let out another breath, "thank the gods…" he whispered out, "we really didn't want to have to use force but we were quickly running out of options. Thanks guys." He gave them a very tired smile before walking to the door and opened it. Everyone rushed in to see Lucy but were quickly halted in their tracks when they seen the three laying peacefully on the bed.

"She wouldn't lay back down unless Natsu and Gray were with her, she feels safe with them right now and I wasn't about to make them leave. So this is what we came up with." Loke quickly explained as he took in their gaping faces.

"…oh my…" Mira whispered out feeling slight glee at the thought of the three of them together.

Erza blushed madly while burying her face into Jellal's chest while he simply smiled at the trio.

Igneel, Silver, Grand and Ur all shared a knowing look as they took in the slightly familiar form of their sons and smiled.

Laxus and Gildarts sighed and shook their heads.

"All I have to say is you two better be man enough for my little one…" Elfman growled out while glaring at the two wrapped around Lucy.

Natsu and Gray shot glares back of their own at the brooding giant in front of them, "the hell Elfman, course were man enough." Natsu quietly hissed back and Gray just tsked before tightening his hold on Lucy.

Elfman scoffed, "yea we'll just see about that. I'm allowing this just this once and ONLY because you two were able to calm her back down. Don't think even for a second that this will become a regular thing, so enjoy it while it lasts." He threatened still glaring at them.

Gajeel simply rolled his eyes at the pissed off giant, he knew how Lucy felt for the two idiots and -as far as he was concerned- as long as she was happy, he was happy, "I've warned ya once playboys, you better not break her heart or I'll break you." Natsu and Gray sternly nodded their heads while tightening their holds.

Makarov smiled at the three of them before turning to Loke, "what happens now?" he asked.

Loke turned to look at everyone before he spoke, "well for now we can finally get her moved to a normal room, she doesn't need to be in ICU anymore. After that…I'm not sure." Loke furrowed his brows and dropped his gaze slightly, "seeing how she was and how panicked she was only makes me worry about her mental health, I would suggest you get a hold of Capricorn right away and get him here as soon as possible to talk to her before the damage becomes greater to her mind."

Makarov nodded, "it shall be done then, come on kids we have work to do. Let's let Lucy rest for now and come back later, we have work to do anyways." He sternly told them as he ushered them out of the small room. Elfman whined the entire time saying he didn't trust the playboys with his little one and he should be the one to stay with her but Mira simply pushed her brother out of the room sparing a quick glance over her shoulder at the three before she walked out too.

Igneel and Silver waited until everyone but Loke was left before they walked up to the bed, "we're going to leave with everyone else, see if we can't help out somehow. Will you two be alright on your own for now?" Silver questioned

Gray and Natsu smiled at the older men, "course dad, we will be fine." Gray answered

"Would you bring us some changes of clothes though? We won't leave Lucy as long as she's here." Natsu's asked

Igneel chuckled while ruffling Natsu's hair, "course son, we will be back later." They started to walk away before pausing in the doorway, "behave you two and please…keep her safe." Igneel gave them stern but soft looks and the boys smiled, "you know we will dad."

Igneel smiled before he and Silver left to join everyone else.

Loke shook his head at their wild family before turning to look at the males, "alright guys, let's get her moved."

* * *

 _ **~AN~**_

 _ **Ok so I know it's a tiny bit shorter then what I have been doing but I felt this was a good place to stop.**_

 _ **I really wanted to get the next chapter out for you guys before I left today for my tattoo therapy so here ya go XD**_

 _ **Let me know how I did!**_

 _ **Until next time!**_

 _ **Much love from a tkitty!**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**~AN~**_

 _ **So…we are officially above 100 reviews AND 100 favorites XD**_

 _ **You guys are awesome, seriously and I can't even tell you how happy it makes me to know y'all still like my sad attempts at writing lol.**_

 _ **For any of my stories really lol**_

 _ **Anyways.**_

 _ **Chapter 10 y'all**_

* * *

Igneel and Silver were walking with Makarov, Gildarts and Laxus to the courthouse to meet up with Yajima and discuss their next course of action.

The evidence that they had gathered throughout the years regarding Lucy's health, the evidence that was gathered the night he attacked her in FC and the hospital reports of her injuries were more than enough to put him away for life.

All they needed was a testimony from Lucy stating everything that actually happened to her and they would be completely set but Gildarts was very reluctant to make her relive it in fear of her completely shutting them all out…so he has put it off and instead worked on what they had for the moment.

The five men had all taken a seat around Yajimas' large desk and were waiting for his opinions on the situation and what they needed to do to put Jude away.

Yajima sighed rather loudly, "this poor child…finally being able to open up and tell us everything…only to be attacked -again- by the very man we've been trying to capture for years…fate is cruel indeed."

Makarov hummed, "I fear that she may close off completely after this last attack…from what Loke told us and the reports he gave you…Jude was out for blood…and he wasn't going to stop until our Lucy was no more."

Makarov's face twisted to one of great pain and sadness as he looked down towards his lap, "it was my duty to protect her…my job as her guardian to watch out for her...instead we let her leave by herself when we knew he was still out there somewhere…and didn't think twice about it. I fear that Mira and Erza may never forgive us for not allowing them to leave to fetch Lucy and bring her back home. Maybe if we did…she wouldn't have crossed paths with that monster."

Laxus laid a hand on his grandfather's shoulder, "gramps…nobody could have known that he was waiting for her."

"Your boy is right Makie…there is no way you could have known what Jude Heartfilia was planning. He has given our boys the run around with finding him and has never left any clues as to his true intentions. At least now we know he is behind bars and cannot hurt her again." Yajima stated, trying to ease the discomfort in his friend's heart.

Gildarts let out a breath as he ran a hand through his slicked back slightly greying red hair, feeling the heaviness in his heart as well, "that may be true, yes, but if we had done a better job to track him down and bring him in for questioning at the very least…my little niece wouldn't have had to suffer yet again." He balled his fists and clenched his teeth as he glared at the carpeted ground.

Yajima looked to the two sulking males and shook his head, "dwelling in the past with 'should haves or could haves and what if's' will help no one." He stated sternly gaining the attentions of everyone in the room again once again, "what we need to focus on now is making sure that all of our gathered evidence sticks and puts this cruel man behind bars. My only concern at the moment is if we are able to get a statement from Miss Lucy about her attack. From what you have all stated she is unwell in the mental health section and -though I do understand- we still need her testimony for this to go to trial."

"Let us try and talk to her." Igneel suddenly spoke up, Silver nodding his head in agreement as they both sat up straighter.

Yajima raised a grey brow in their direction beckoning them silently to continue.

"We have much we need to discuss with Lucy to begin with about her mother. Let us try and talk to her and get her to open back up, we will have Gildarts in the room with us just in case we are successful so he can record her testimony." Igneel continued

Yajima placed a closed fist to his chin as he thought it over, "I'm sure it came as quite a shock to hear about not only Layla but also finding out about Miss Lucy as well. I know you two were close to that wonderful woman and it brought me great sadness when Makie told me about his findings when Miss Lucy finally told them who she was." He gave the older men a sad once over before he continued, "I have no doubt that you have much you need to tell her about her mother and I am sure Miss Lucy is just as confused as everyone else since Layla passed on when she was at such a young age and more than likely didn't tell her anything about her past." Yajima sighed and closed his eyes, "if you think you can get through to her, get her to open up, then go ahead. I do want Gildarts with you two when you do talk to her, I have a good feeling about this and I believe this will be the helpful push she will need to be able to start healing again." Yajima opened his eyes again and gave the two men a gentle smile which they returned.

Silver looked to where Gildarts was quietly standing, "come on Gildarts, lets head back to the hospital."

Nodded his head to him the three men quickly stood bidding everyone farewell before walking out of Yajimas' office.

Yajima looked back to his old friend and his grandson again before speaking with a soft voice, "Makie…please don't let this tear you apart. If Igneel and Silver can get through to her than you have nothing to worry about and knowing that wonderful child she holds no ill will towards anyone. You all have raised her to be a fine young woman who is every bit as beautiful, caring and talented as her mother was."

Makarov quietly chuckled, "aye…our little Lucy is indeed a Layla reincarnate in every sense of the word. We couldn't have asked for a better light for our family then her nor would we ever find another to ever take her place in our hearts…Lucy truly is a wonderful child."

Laxus gently patted his back with a small smile on his face, silently agreeing with everything his grandfather spoke about his little sister.

"Give it time Makie."

"Aye…thank you Yaj."

 _ **~MAGNOLIA GENERAL HOSPITAL~**_

Igneel, Silver and Gildarts were finally making their way to Lucy's new room after finding a nurse to help them out. They had found out that Loke went home to rest for the day seeing as he hasn't slept in two full days to make sure that Lucy was good and stable before he even thought about leaving.

The nurse led them straight to her room, giving the door a soft knock before quietly opening the door for the older men to walk in.

The trio had barely even moved an inch with Natsu and Gray still squishing Lucy in between their bodies on the tiny hospital bed only now Lucy's face was buried into Natsu's chest and her back was to Gray. The two boys looked up from admiring their girls' still sleeping form and gave the three newcomers a welcoming smile.

"Hey dad." Natsu whispered out

"Hey." Gray followed suit

"Hey boys." Igneel and Silver said in unison while Gildarts simply nodded his head and leaned back against the wall facing Lucy's bed with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Is everythin' alright?" Natsu quietly questioned with a raised eyebrow

Igneel looked to Gildarts and Silver before looking back at his sons, "yea…everythin' is fine, for now."

"What do you mean for now?" Gray whispered

Silver sighed, "we need to try and talk to Lucy…we have to have her testimony to ensure that Jude is sent and stays put in jail."

Natsu and Gray looked at each other and then at Lucy before going back to their fathers, "I don't think that's such a good idea…" Natsu started. "Lucy woke up some time after we finally moved to the new room…she didn't say a word, only cried herself to sleep again." Gray finished

Igneel and Silver sighed dropping their gazes to the floor before looking back up to the three on the small bed, "we have to try, we are hopin' that if we talk to her first about her mother…then maybe she will open back up and tell us what happened to her." Igneel stated

Natsu and Gray slowly nodded, they already knew about their parents' relationship with Layla, they just had no idea that Lucy was her daughter and, apparently, nobody else did either…making Lucy the family's dirty little secret in a way. While they weren't overly excited about having to wake Lucy up and chance her breaking down again, they understood that this needed to be done in order for Lucy to have closure with her horrid past. Not only that but they -themselves- needed to hear from Lucy exactly what HAD happened to her and not just what Loke had found.

So with very gentle coaxing, the boys woke up their sleeping angel.

"Luce…" Natsu whispered into her ear while gently running a hand along her bare arm.

Lucy groaned softly but made no show of waking up.

"Come on Lucy, we need you to wake up now." Gray tried next running a hand through her soft golden hair.

The boys watched as she peeked an eye open seeing only Natsu's chest in her vision, she softly whimpered and shook her head no in defiance before squishing her face farther into his chest and closed her eyes again.

Natsu and Gray both chuckled before trying again, "come on Luce, our dads are here and so is Gildarts. They need to talk to you."

Lucy tensed between them and opened her eyes again.

"Don't worry Lucy, we aren't goin' anywhere. We will stay by your side through the entire thing if you want us too." Gray reassured her feeling her slowly relax in between them.

Lucy nodded her head and slowly sat up wincing slightly when the stitches in her hip pulled slightly, "easy now, not too fast. You don't want your stitches to pop open." Gray pointed out, he and Natsu helped her sit up completely allowing Lucy to see the three older men in the room with them.

Natsu and Gray positioned themselves right behind her to allow Lucy to lean back into both of their bodies if she grew too tired to stay seated.

Lucy looked to Gildarts first giving the older man a small smile which he returned allowing him to relax some from his position on the wall.

She then looked to the two other older males both sitting down in chairs to the left of Gildarts and the end of the hospital bed.

Lucy gave a small wave with her left hand at the two and they smiled back, "hey darlin', it's good to see you again." Igneel softly said earning him a small smile from the girl in return.

"We wanted to talk with you for a while, that is if you're up for it." Silver spoke next

Lucy looked back and forth between the two older males debating on whether or not she should hear them out.

"You don't have to say anythin', but we thought you would like to hear about your mother when we were younger." Igneel stated watching her face to gage her reactions.

Lucy's eyes went wide, "mama…" she softly spoke, "the way…the way you've talk about her…it's like you knew her but I never heard about you until I started talking to Natsu and Gray. She never told me about her past…it was like she was purposely keeping that part of her life a secret from me and I never understood why."

Igneel and Silver nodded, "aye…we figured she wouldn't tell you anything about us. We had a-uh…fallin' out -I suppose would be the best word- many years ago that caused a giant rift to separate us and we were never able to recover from it." Igneel sadly explained

Lucy dropped her gaze to the bed and her brows furrowed as she pondered over the new information, "Could you explain?" she questioned looking back up at the older males.

Both men nodded their heads and allowed Lucy to lean back to rest her body against Natsu and Gray watching as both their boys wrapped an arm around her waist before they began, "We met your mother durin' our junior year of high school. Her family had just moved to Colorado and we happened to meet her on her very first day at FTAU." Igneel began

Both males chuckled, "how we all met was quite funny though, your mother was a very gentle and kind woman but she was definitely a spitfire who had no qualms about tellin' you exactly how she felt." Silver laughed out at the memory.

Lucy cracked a small smile, "how did you all meet?" she questioned, secretly enjoying the feeling of Natsu and Gray's arms around her waist while she rested her body against theirs.

"To put it bluntly, we hit on her." Igneel answered rubbing the back his head

"Aye, but she wouldn't have any of it and had quickly put us in our place. She told us that she would never fall for such -and I quote- _'degenerate, pigheaded, idiotic, insufferable, fools who didn't know how to treat a woman nor how to keep it in their pants.'_ Needless to say we were shocked because we have never been turned down before." Silver stated causing Natsu and Gray to quietly snicker behind Lucy.

"Eventually -with quite a bit of persuasion and determination- we were able to convince Layla that we were not just lookin' for another conquest to add to our belts and instead only wanted friendship, she was more than happy to oblige us then." Igneel continued smiling softly at the memory

Lucy snorted slightly, "you followed her around and bugged her until she finally gave in didn't you?"

By the looks of the slight pink on their cheeks and turned away faces Lucy hit it right on the money and it caused her to giggle.

Like father like son. Natsu and Gray constantly blew up her phone trying to get her to talk to them before she finally relinquished, now they were her best friends.

Silver coughed to clear his throat, "It wasn't long after that we introduced her to Ur and -the twins- Grand and Porly and we were inseparable. We took her with us to FC so she could meet the family, everyone immediately took a likin' to her and thought of her as a bright light for the family. Gramps welcomed her with open arms and without a second thought, it was all over for her from there, she was stuck with us." everyone laughed

"We had later found out that Layla was quite talented when it came to a guitar or a camera. We more often than not found ourselves relaxin' in one of our homes listenin' to her play for hours or she would show us her abundance of photo albums filled to the brim of pictures that she had taken. The things she was able to capture with either strings or a lens was truly remarkable and we still to this day have no idea how she did it." Silver continued

Lucy gave them a sad smile, "I know that feeling all too well…I am still trying to figure out how she was able to bring beauty in things that should not be considered beautiful. I'm getting there though and I'm sure mama is proud of me."

All the males in the room gave the girl a soft smile and then continued.

Igneel looked down to his lap, "We were like that all throughout our junior year but the start of our senior year myself, Silver, Grand and Ur began to feel a different connection to your mother. One of a deeper feelin' and the longer we were with her the harder it became to hide the feelin's the 4 of us had." he looked up at the girl, seeing if she understood

Lucy's brows pinched again and she eyed Igneel, "what do you mean? What feelings?"

Igneel chuckled and closed his eyes, "to put it bluntly again…the 4 of us loved Layla. We loved her to the point that we all wanted her as ours, we had even agreed that if Layla should accept us we would all share her. We were hers and she was ours."

Lucy's face burned bright red and she dropped her gaze to the bed, twiddling her fingers together, "O-oh…I-I see." She squeaked out

Natsu and Gray tightened their holds around the girl, they were hoping that this conversation would help them somehow. They wanted her to know that it was ok to love more than one person, that both of them loved her more than words could describe and had already had the agreement that they would share her. Not only would they become closer but this would also give them a way to help her not only heal but for them to also make up for what they did to her.

They just hoped that she was like her mother and kept her mind open.

Igneel nodded his head at her, "we never forced anythin' on Layla. But we wanted to make sure she knew exactly how the 4 of us felt about her, so we finally told her…at first she didn't take it well. She didn't like the idea of the 5 of us being in a relationship, it was burned into her head that you can only love one person, can only be in a relationship with one person and anything else is considered _'taboo'._ Not only that but for some reason she was so bent out of shape with what other people would think about us all being together and it wasn't until we all finally sat her down and explained to her that it shouldn't matter what other people think, what does matter is how we all felt for one another…how much we loved each other."

"What we didn't know at the time was Layla actually did feel the same way as we did, she loved all of us and wanted us to be together, she was just scared." Silver gave Lucy a small smile, "she eventually accepted all of us under one condition…we had to keep our relationship a secret. Being completely honest we didn't like it one bit…but we understood. Her parents were old fashioned and would never have approved of us, so to keep Layla as ours…we kept each other a secret."

Igneel rubbed the back of his head again, "it worked out well until we decided to finally bring the physical aspect into our group. After that it became harder to hide the fact that we weren't more than just best friends."

Natsu, Gray and Lucy choked on their spit, while Gildarts scoffed, "y'all didn't hide shit. We knew from the very beginning." He rolled his eyes at the two males, "you guys weren't exactly the most restrained of couples." He chuckled out at them

Igneel and Silver waved him off, "yea yea, whatever…the point we're tryin' to make here is it wasn't good for us to try and hide our love for each other but we did it for Layla's sake." Igneel's eyes softened, "we even made a plan. After we all graduated college we would start our own businesses and run them together as a family and travel the world."

Igneels eyes quickly changed to a pained look, "Silver and I made mistakes though…"

Lucy looked back and forth between the two, "what happened?"

Igneel let out a long breath, "we never planned that we would fall in love with Grand and Ur too…so much so that we wanted them in our lives just as much as we all wanted Layla."

"Our first mistake…we married Ur and Grand…we didn't even consider how it would make Layla feel being left out like that." Silver looked down to his hands in shame

"Our second mistake…Grand and Ur had become pregnant with Natsu and Gray and again we didn't think to how that would make Layla feel. She had always told us how much she wanted to get married and become a mother…we left her out and didn't think twice about it until it was too late." Igneel whispered

Silver raised his head to look back at Lucy, "Before we knew it Layla was distancing herself from all of us and because of that…she met someone new."

Igneel balled his fists and gritted his teeth, "it all flew by in such a blur that we didn't even realize what was going on until the day before Layla was to be married. We all were so shocked and hurt…we couldn't believe that Layla would just leave us like that…"

"Our third and final mistake…we blamed Layla for us driftin' apart…" Silver didn't try to hide his emotions letting a few tears drift down his cheeks.

"They day before the wedding gramps threw a party at FC for Layla, we crashed it…we found her standing next to Jude while talkin' with a few of our family members. Silver and I threw ourselves to our knees before her and begged her in front of everyone not to marry him…that he was no good for her…we pleaded for her to come back to us and leave with us like we had all planned. Grand and Ur even tried to beg her even though they were due to go into labor at any point. Layla looked at all 4 of us and gave us a sad smile before she said she was sorry but she had found true love and it was with Jude...not us. She said that we didn't have room for her in our hearts anymore but that she was happy that we found a stronger love in each other than she could ever give us and wished us good luck for the future." Igneel balled his fists and gritted his teeth…he shouldn't have let her walk away from them…he should have made her come back to them.

"She walked away from us after that and just before she could leave I yelled out how could she just give up on us like that after everything we had been through together she was just goin' to toss us aside just like that…I'll never forget her face nor the words she spoke, she turned her head to look over her shoulder at us and gave us one last blinding smile while she had tears rolling down her face and said _'I never once gave up on us.'_ Then she walked out of our lives forever…that was the last time we ever saw her." Igneel had tears streaming down his face as well as Silver and Lucy's heart clenched in pain.

"We were so mad at her that we didn't even go to the wedding the next day…about a week after that Ur went into labor and one more week Grand went into labor. After that we focused on our families and starting our businesses, over the course of a few years our businesses blossomed and thrived all throughout the states. We eventually decided that we wanted to expand to other countries…so we left. Over the years we finally accepted that no…Layla was not to blame but we were…she never gave up on us…we forgot about her." Silver finished their story and both males looked up at Lucy who had tears steadily flowing from her eyes and her left hand was raised up to cover her mouth.

Igneel and Silver stood and walked to the bed kneeling down right next to Lucy and looked up at her, "we wanted to tell you about how we felt for your mother…we loved her dearly…we _STILL_ love her and words cannot describe the amount that we have missed her. We made a mistake 19 years ago…we should have never left her alone, we should have never let her think that we didn't love her any less than we did Grand and Ur. Lucy…you should have been one of ours…we should have been your dads but because of our mistakes we allowed her to walk out of our lives and never went after her. We do not want to make the same mistake with you…we were already years too late to keep you from getting hurt by the same man that stole our world from us. Please allow us to help you heal and finally keep that man behind bars where he belongs." Igneel pleaded gently taking the fingers of her cast hand into his while Silver held onto her left hand.

"please…let us help you."

Lucy darted her eyes back and forth between the older males before looking over her shoulder at Gray and Natsu seeing them both smile at her and nod their heads. Lucy looked back to Igneel and Silver and smiled, "ok."

Lucy told them everything, saying how she left FC to go and visit her mom to try and calm down her frantic nerves before Natsu and Gray showed up. How she talked for a bit longer than she had planned and then to when she got ready to leave only to freeze solid when she heard her father's voice. She told them how he had walked up to her and immediately slapped her sending her flying to the ground, she told them how he forced her to keep standing back up only to be knocked back to the ground again. She told them how he had started to kick her and that's how she got the massive bruise across her bottom jaw, she even made sure to tell them all the harsh words he spoke into her ear to break her. She told them how it had almost worked had it not been for her fighting spirit kicking in giving her the hope that she could get away and live. She told them about her first attempt at getting away only for it to completely backfire on her causing her to not only get stabbed twice but to also have her arm shattered by a rock.

Gildarts gritted his teeth when she spoke about her arm and continued to record her story of the events. Natsu and Gray refused to release her from their hold, hoping that by feeling them and knowing that they were there that it would make it easier on her to speak.

She then told them about how she completely lost hope once he was finished destroying her arm and how she thought that she would never be able to play again and it was also when she started talking about the sexual assault. All the males growled out as she spoke of how she felt like she was being torn apart from the inside out, she was crying more as she continued her story.

She told them that her fighting spirit kicked in again refusing to allow her to die and once again gave her new hope and allowed her to strike and get away. She told them about her running back to FC to the point when she came crashing through the doors and screamed out for help.

Once she was finally finished, Lucy was a sobbing mess. Having to relive her entire ordeal only made her wounds start to ache more and the pain in her heart and mind throb. Natsu and Gray wrapped their arms around her and forced her to lay back down while Igneel, Silver and Gildarts gathered their things and left to head back to the courthouse.

"Don't you worry darlin', we will take care of everything for you. you just work on getting better." Igneel placed a hand on her head feeling her nod before they walked out.

After that…it was just a matter of waiting…

Lucy sniffled from her spot against Natsu's chest, "N-N-Natsu, Gray…am I-I ever going to be ok?"

Natsu and Gray looked at each other before looking back down at the shivering girl in their arms, "of course you are Lucy, why wouldn't you be?" Gray asked while pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

Lucy buried her face farther into Natsu's chest, "w-what if he gets out? He will find m-me again and I-I won't survive again…he'll k-kill me…"

Natsu growled and Lucy could feel the rumbling against her face, "like hell that bastard will get out. And even if he does we'll kill him before he ever gets a chance to even look at you again."

"…please don't leave me alone…" Lucy mumbled into his chest

"Never." Natsu and Gray said in unison gripping her even tighter. They would never leave her alone again and -even if she didn't know it yet- she was theirs and theirs alone. No one beside them was ever allowed to touch her ever again and that was a promise.

* * *

Lucy was released from the hospital a week later allowing her to finally return home.

True to their words Natsu and Gray stayed with her the entire time, only ever leaving to get food but one of them was always with her.

The first thing Lucy did was have them take her to FC so she could spend time with her family, everyone cheered and rejoiced having their little one back and safe with them once again. The party that happened afterwards was chaotic to say the least.

Lucy was currently sitting at the bar with Elfman right next to her while she watched Mira run drinks all around the club. Natsu and Gray were busy picking fights with everyone but always looked to where Lucy was to make sure she was safe and being taken care of.

"Big brother…" Lucy began not looking at the man next to her

"What is it little one?" he questioned wrapping an arm around her shoulders, being careful not to aggravate her stitches or tug on her sling.

Lucy sighed and turned to look at Elfman, "how long do you think it will take for everything to go through?"

Elfman shook his head before gently lifting her up into his massive arms and held her close, "I don't know little one, these things take time but I know for sure that you have nothing to worry about. We won't let anything happen to you ever again and that's a promise."

Lucy buried her face into his chest taking in his woodsy scent to calm herself down, "…I'm scared big brother…" she whispered out clutching onto his shirt.

Elfman felt his heart crack, "I know little one…don't you worry though. We're all here for you and we aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Do you want to go home?"

He felt Lucy nod her head slowly, he stood up walking to where Mira was serving drinks to Laxus, Bickslow, Freed and Evergreen, "Laxus, can you take Lucy home? She's pretty worn out."

Mira walked up to them and placed a hand on Lucy's head, "are you ok Lucy?"

Lucy nodded her head again and looked to Mira, "I'm ok big sis, I'm just really tired and ready to go home." she gave a small smile and Mira simply sighed and leaned in to place a kiss on her forehead, "ok Lucy, go home and get some rest. We will see you in the morning ok?"

"ok"

Elfman handed her over to Laxus and watched as she buried her face into his chest and gripped his shirt.

Natsu and Gray had run up the moment they seen Elfman pass Lucy over to Laxus with worried faces, "what's going on? Is Lucy ok?" Natsu questioned while placing a hand on her head

Laxus rolled his eyes, "she's fine kid, she's just tired. I'm taking her home."

Natsu and Gray both whimpered watching Laxus walk out of the building with their girl, "she's fine guys, it's just been an emotional week for her. You'll see her tomorrow." Mira patted them both on their heads before walking off to serve more drinks.

"…yea…ok…"

 _ **~5 MONTHS LATER~**_

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" Yajima questioned when all the people charged with jury duty filed out of their meeting room.

"We have your honor." One juror spoke while carrying a piece of paper to the podium.

"Please rise for the verdict." Yajima commanded, waiting for everyone to rise from their perspective seating. He looked to the first two rows that held the family members, Lucy was curled up tightly against Mira and Elfman's sides and Natsu and Gray were standing in the row directly behind her both placed a hand on her shoulders while they waited for the results to be read.

"On the count of attempted murder…" Yajima started

" **Guilty"**

"On count of attempted rape…"

" **Guilty"**

"On count of sexual assault…"

" **Guilty"**

"On count of child endangerment…"

" **Guilty"**

"On count of child abuse..."

" **Guilty"**

"Then it is settled, Jude Heartfilia I hereby sentence you to 75 years to life without parole. Mavis have mercy on your soul." Yajima slammed his gavel down onto his desk.

Jude laughed, "it doesn't matter what happens to me now, I've already left my mark forever. I won the woman and ruined the mind of that pathetic rat." Jude looked behind him to where Lucy was standing, "You hear me you wretched little bitch!? You'll never be free of me! I'll always be in your head, never forget that I OWN YOU! WITHOUT ME YOU WOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE!" he screamed out.

Natsu and Gray jumped over Lucy's seat and were joined by Gajeel when they tried to jump to where Jude was had they not been stopped by Igneel, Silver, Elfman, Jellal and Laxus.

"GET THIS MONSTER OUT OF MY COURTROOM NOW!" Yajima bellowed out

They all watched as Jude was hauled away in cuffs by armed police officers, "YOU'RE MINE! DON'T YOU EVER FUCKING FORGET IT!" he was finally silenced when the doors leading to the holding cells closed behind him allowing everyone to let out a relieved breath.

Lucy hid her face in Mira's chest and let out a shaky breath, "are you ok Lucy?" Mira whispered her arms wrapped around the trembling girl while one had was gently stroking her hair.

Lucy nodded her head, "I-I'm fine big sis…just shaken up a bit. I'll be ok though." She pulled back to look at the older woman and smiled, "I'll be ok."

Mira closed her eyes and sighed before leaning in and kissing her forehead, "we're here for you…don't you dare forget that." Mira cupped her cheeks in her palms forcing Lucy to look her in the eyes, "I mean it…don't handle anything by yourself you hear me?"

Lucy nodded again while looking into Mira's bright blue eyes, "aye ma'am."

Mira didn't get a chance to say anything more before Lucy was pulled out of her arms and lifted into the warm arms of Natsu and walked out of the court room with Gray right next to them, "come on Luce…let's get out of here." Natsu softly said while looking down at the girl in his arms.

Lucy didn't say anything only burying her head into his chest as they all walked out of the courthouse with the rest of their family close behind.

Natsu and Gray walked up to their brand new red and blue Audi R8's parked in front of the massive building. Gray opened the door to Natsu's car allowing him to slide Lucy in and close the door behind her.

Natsu and Gray looked back at everyone else talking amongst themselves, "we're gonna take her to our house for a while and let her relax. We will bring her to FC later on." Gray stated watching everyone nod their heads

Natsu turned to look at their parents, "are you headin' home too dad or are you goin' to FC?"

Igneel waved them off, "go on and spend time with Lucy, I'm sure she needs it right now. We're goin' to head to FC to hang out with everyone else, just be sure to bring her by later on alright?"

The young men nodded their heads before turning to their cars climbing in and driving away from everyone.

Makarov sighed as they watched the boys' cars disappear in the distance, "it is finally over…"

"Yes it is. Now all we have to do is finish helping Lucy heal and this horrible nightmare can finally be put to rest." Erza stated

"That bastards lucky we were able to hold the boys back…otherwise they probably would have killed him." Laxus growled out

"You're damn right we would have…" Gajeel sneered, "how fuckin' heartless do you have to be to yell out somethin' like that to your own daughter?"

"there are a lot of things we may never truly understand when it comes to Jude Heartfilia but what's done is done and he is being sent away for the rest of his life. Lucy is safe and that's all that matters now." Makarov said feeling the absolute relief within his chest.

"Aye." everyone agreed

"Come, let us go back to FC and celebrate our victory children."

"AYE!"

* * *

 _ **~AN~**_

 _ **SO!**_

 _ **Hi...**_

 _ **Hows it goin'?**_

 _ **I missed you lotsies XD**_

 _ **I hope y'all liked the new chapter, have to let me know how I did lol**_

 _ **Until next time!**_

 _ **Much love from a tkitty! XD**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**~AN~**_

 _ **So, I would like to apologize for taking so long to update…**_

 _ **My life has been one chaotic event after another and I just haven't really gotten a break nor have I had the time. :(**_

 _ **I'm hoping that my putting up another chapter will make up for it.**_

 _ **Chapter 11 y'all!**_

* * *

Lucy sat in silence watching the world pass her by while she stared out of the car window.

She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel at the moment,

 _Happy…_

 _Sad…_

 _Overjoyed…_

 _Frightened…_

 _Relieved…_

 _Terrified…_

She didn't know and the more she thought about it the more confused she became.

She was _happy_ that her father could never harm her ever again but at the same time she was _sad_ because her only living blood relative was now locked up and by her doing no less.

She was _overjoyed_ to be freed from his wrath but _frightened_ because what did she do now?

She was _relieved_ that after all these years it was finally - _FINALLY-_ over but _terrified_ about what that actually meant.

For the first time in her life…Lucy Heartfilia did not have answers to her many questions and she was scared.

She itched at the skin just below the brace around her right wrist and arm, she was healing nicely and even though she still had some troubles when it came to playing she did not let it hold her back. She wanted to heal, she wanted to get better, it was the only way she knew she could make her mother proud of her.

To overcome such a huge obstacle and come back standing tall?

Lucy silently scoffed and laughed at herself, she didn't need to have all the answers to her confusing thoughts, she just needed one answer and one answer only….

Lucy will continue to fight for what she believes in, she will continue to fight for whatever and whoever she loves, she will live her life with no regrets of the past and no fear for the future.

Lucys' answer to her many questions?

 _ **Live**_

That's all she needed to do.

She just needed to continue on living in the now, for her friends, her family, the ones she loves, for herself, that's all…nothing more nothing less.

Lucy smiled to herself, finally feeling like a massive weight was lifted off her shoulders.

She immediately frowned though, there was one more thing she needed to do before her mind could truly be at peace…better to get it done now than later right?

Lucy turned her attention to the man currently driving, "Natsu?"

He shifted his gaze to her quickly before looking back to the road, "what's up Luce?"

Lucy sucked in a deep breath before shakily letting it back out, "I need you to take me somewhere before we go to your house…"

Natsu rolled the car to a stop at a stop light and turned his head to look at her with a brow lifted, "…where?" he slightly demanded, he could tell she was on edge about wherever it was she wanted him to take her and he didn't like it one bit.

Lucy dropped her gaze to her lap and twiddled her fingers together, "I would rather not say until we are there…jus-just please do this for me? I-I need closure…I need to do this one last thing before I can completely move on with my life…" she looked back up at the male with pleading eyes, "please Natsu…" she whispered.

Natsu loudly sighed, turning his gaze back to the road pressing on the gas pedal when the light shown green, "fine…but if you can't handle it in any way we're leavin', understood?" he looked at her from the corner of his eye watching her slowly nod her head, "…alright…" he breathed, "tell me where to go…"

Natsu followed her directions taking turns and stops whenever he needed too, Gray was closely following behind in his car and Natsu could tell that he was just as confused as he was since they weren't heading home anymore but Gray didn't make a move to call him so he just left him to follow behind.

Natsu still had no idea where Lucy was leading them and he couldn't help but notice that the more he drove the tenser she became.

He really didn't like wherever she was leading them…

"Turn here," Lucy quietly stated pointing at a street to the right

Natsu obliged, turning the wheel to make the car go right down the street she was pointing at, when he looked at the street sign he read what it said, "Strawberry Street?" he looked at Lucy with a confused face, she merely gave the male a sad smile and nodded her head once.

Natsu drove slowly taking in all the run down houses around them until Lucy finally told him to stop in front of -what was his opinion- the worst house on the block. Despite the cheery name of the street they were on Natsu felt no peace when he put his car in park watching as Gray pulled up right behind them putting his car in park as well. He was suddenly very nervous that they were unintentionally flashing all the money they had and hoped with everything he had that they would not be messed with.

He cleared his throat and looked at the girl he and Gray both loved, "where are we Lucy? Why are we here?" it came out a bit rougher than he intended it too but it seemed to not bug her in the slightest. She offered him a small sad smile that nowhere near reached her eyes before she turned away from him and opened her door, stepping out into the sun.

Natsu heavily sighed, running a hand up and down his face after she closed the door behind her and turned off his car opening his own door to allow him to step out into the sun as well.

Natsu stood next to his car -his door still open- he attempted to rest his hands on the sun baked roof but immediately pulled them to his sides with a hiss. Gray walked up to Natsu once he made sure his car was locked up tight, "Natsu where the hell are we? I really don't like the looks of this place…"

Natsu nodded his head not looking at the male as he kept his gaze focused solely on Lucy, "I couldn't agree with you more…" he then pointed at the woman still standing in front of his car with her back to them as she looked at the eerie house in front of them, "but Lucy practically begged me to bring her here," he finally turned his head to look at Gray, "and she hasn't told me a thing yet."

Gray nodded his head at his brother and turned to look at the house they were parked in front of. Once upon a time it would have been a very nice looking house, now though the place didn't even look inhabitable to animals let alone people. Weathered sidings lay on the ground having fallen off the house, every window was either boarded up or broken, the roof over the front porch looked as though it could collapse at any second, the front door was barely hanging on by a single hinge, by the looks of things even city officials clearly deemed this place unfit for human life if the _'Caution Keep Out'_ and _'Danger'_ sign plastered on the door weren't warning enough and the lawn looked something close to a small jungle having not seen a lawn mower or trimmer in years.

Gray thickly swallowed and looked back to Natsu, "we need to get out of here," Natsu looked back to Gray and his brows pinched together when he seen the worry on Gray's pale face, "we need to grab Lucy and get her as far away from this place as possible. I really don't like the feel of it…it seriously gives off an almost ominous or evil vibe and I don't want her or us anywhere near that house."

Natsu nodded his head, "alright, I couldn't agree more. Let's grab Lucy an-whoa, Lucy! STOP!" Natsu panicked when he turned back to the girl only to see her walking up to the tattered house. Gray shot to her side in a second while Natsu was closing his door and locking his car. Gray scooped her up into his arms and cradled her close to his chest, "what are you thinkin' Lucy?! You can't go in that house, it's not safe. Come on let's get you back in the car and head to our house."

Gray turned around with the girl in his arms and attempted to walk back to the cars only for Lucy to start squirming, "no Gray, please put me down, I have to go in there. Please…I have too…" she wiggled some more while looking up at the raven haired male with pleading eyes but Gray simply shook his head and continued to walk to the cars, "no Lucy, I'm sorry but there is nothin' that important for you to risk your life goin' in that house for."

Natsu finally walked up to the two and placed a hand on Lucy's head, "Gray's right Luce, come on. There's nothin' in that house worth your life."

Lucy's bottom lip shot out and quivered, tears burned her eyes threatening to fall, both males visibly tensed and grimaced at the look on her face, "…I have to go in there…I-I have to…y-you don't understand…" her voice cracked slightly as she looked back and forth between the two.

Natsu let a low growl escape his lips, "what's there ta understan' Lucy?! That house is not safe and we don't wanna risk you or us gettin' hurt tryin' ta go in there. NOTHIN' is that important that you _have_ to go in there, I'm sorry Lucy but we're leavin' now."

Lucy let the built up tears fall and she gritted her teeth while she glared at the two males, "nothing is that important?! What would you know?! You don't know _anything_ about what I've been through! I'm going in that house one more time and neither of you can stop me!" Lucy harshly pushed on Gray's chest and it threw him off enough that his grip loosened and she jumped out of his arms and down to the ground. She sent one last tearful glare at the two before she stomped around them and headed for the house.

Panicking both men looked to each other with wide eyes and gaping mouths before running to catch up to the fuming girl, "Lucy please…we're sorry. Please _PLEASE_ don't go in there." Gray begged while gently taking hold of her right hand to stop her from walking.

"I'm sorry Luce, you're right, we don't have any idea what you've been through and for that we are truly sorry but please don't go. We can't lose you…" Natsu begged grabbing her left hand and ran his thumb along her knuckles.

Lucy lowered her head tears still falling from her eyes, the males watched as her shoulders shook while she quietly cried, "…I-I didn't m-mean to snap at y-you two…I-I'm sorry…b-b-but I still _have_ t-to go in there…this place…t-this house…this is my o-old home."

Both men sucked in a harsh breath finally understanding what this place meant to Lucy but it still didn't explain _why_ she had to go in there in the first place.

Gray looked up to the broken house before looking back to the crying girl, "Lucy…tell us, what is so important that you have to go back in there?" he kept his voice low and soft, they didn't want to fight with her anymore.

Lucy sniffled a bit before pulling her hands free from theirs, she wiped her cheeks in an attempt at drying them and looked at both males now standing in front of her with wet puffy red eyes, "…my mama's most prized possessions are still in there…to me it's like her soul is still trapped inside that house and I refuse to allow her to stay there alone any longer." she lowered her head back down to the cracked pathway leading up to the house, "I have to get her out of there…" she looked back up at the men tears slowly building back up in the corners of her eyes, "please…"

Natsu and Gray visibly winced immediately wanting to take back all of their words, it wasn't nothing, in fact it was far from nothing. They both looked to each other having a silent conversation through their eyes before they both sighed loudly and looked back to Lucy, "ok…ok…we get it. We will go in once, and ONLY once, grab as much as we can and make it back out. Deal?" Gray offered a compromise

Lucy nodded her head, "there's only two rooms I want to go in then we can leave I promise."

The boys nodded their heads and followed behind Lucy as she slowly made her way to the rickety steps leading to the front door. She took careful steps listening to the wood below her feet groan from her added weight, once she reached the door Natsu pushed her back against Gray while he grabbed the hanging door in case it fell off its single hinge. He was proven right when the door flopped right into his hands as they listened to the metal hinge -that connected it to the frame- clank against the ground, he backed up slightly and moved to place the door along the wall right next to where it once stood. As soon as he was sure that the door wouldn't move again he looked back to his two companions and nodded, watching as Lucy -once again- took the lead and slowly stepped into the house.

She didn't even bother looking at the rest of the house, instead went straight for the set of stairs in front of the main entrance. She didn't want to be here anymore than the boys did but she had to get her mothers' things out of this house so she trudged on, once she placed her foot on the first step leading to the second floor -however- she began to have second thoughts. The wooden steps leading upwards were worn down and she feared that they would not hold their added weight, Gray placed a hand on her shoulder sensing her hesitation, "it's alright Lucy, just take it slow and hold on to the railing and the wall for balance just in case."

Lucy nodded her head, grabbing on to the railing with her right hand and placing her left palm flat against the wall on the other side, she didn't really find any comfort with the actions but it was better than nothing. They took the steps slowly and one at a time carefully listening to the wood for any signs of collapsing as it groaned and whined beneath their feet. Once they were safely on the second floor Lucy immediately made her way to her old room -the boys still trailing closely behind her- till she was standing before her door. She took a shaky breath in and let it out reaching for the handle, turning it slowly and pushing on it she let go and allowed the door to open by itself till it came to a stop against the wall. Lucy took slow steps inside the room immediately being flooded by painful memories while she took in all the still damaged walls and lack of furniture.

It was at this moment that she couldn't be more grateful for the wonderful family the world allowed her to have, if it wasn't for Mira and Elfman…she probably wouldn't be alive today. Lucy rubbed her hand on her chest over her heart to try and alleviate some of the throbbing, the thought scared her because she knew for a fact that she wouldn't have lasted much longer had she stayed.

Natsu and Gray looked around the bare room only seeing a beat up mattress and a small bedside dresser within the room and that was all, "Luce?" Natsu questioned, they weren't sure what she wanted from in here since there wasn't anything in here but they weren't about to voice their opinions again.

Lucy looked over her shoulder at the two before closing her eyes and sighing, "welcome to my room…nothing has changed since I was last here…" she said quietly and opened her eyes back up to see both men with wide eyes for a second before they quickly morphed into scowling faces. Their teeth were gritted and their fists were balled, "…I'm sorry Lucy…" was all Gray was able to get out.

Lucy just shook her head at them, "don't be. If this life hadn't happened, I wouldn't have met all of you." she gave them a small genuine smile before she refocused to the task at hand. Walking fully into the room she went straight to the mattress grabbing hold of it and pulling it down -like she used to do- until it was out of the way of her goal. She then moved to the where the bed and the wall once met and knelt down -tucking her legs underneath her- to grab hold of the loosened floor board lifting it out of the way. She was over joyed when she looked into the opening in the floor spotting her old jewelry box and her mothers' old camera. She quickly lifted the box out first opening it, finding her old locket and her mothers' ring still safe, she breathed out a sigh of relief and grabbed the camera as well before standing back up.

She turned back around with her treasures safely within her hands, "ok, that's it for this room. One more then we can go."

Natsu and Gray nodded moving aside to allow her to walk through them and followed her to the next room which was right next door to her room. Lucy stopped in front of the door that blocked her from her mothers' office, she placed her hand on the knob and turned it only for it to not budge an inch, "huh…I'm kind of amazed that it's still locked…" she mumbled to herself before turning around to face the males, "could you guys maybe…" she trailed off while jabbing a thumb over her shoulder.

Natsu grinned while nodding his head, "say no more Luce, breakin' things is kinda my specialty after all."

Gray simply rolled his eyes and grabbed Lucy's shoulders to pull her back against him and away from the destructive idiot, "be careful numb nuts, I don't want to have to explain ta dad why you hurt yourself."

Natsu tsked and glared at Gray, "whatever icicle dick, I got this." he jabbed a thumb into his chest while he puffed up and smirked at the two.

Gray kept his hands on Lucy's shoulders while he leaned down to her ear and whispered, "and that's what we call the equivalent of _'hold my beer and watch this'"_ Lucy pulled a hand to her mouth and giggled softly while they watched Natsu.

Natsu backed up as far away from the locked door as he could go and crouched low taking on a tacklers stance, he then pushed off the balls of his feet sprinting for the door. He slammed his shoulder into the wood full force and Lucy and Gray watched as Natsu and the door went flying into the room slamming hard onto the ground.

Lucy gasped and ran into the newly exposed room to find Natsu sprawled out on the floor on top of the -now broken- door, "oh my gods Natsu are you alright?!" she ran to the male and dropped to her knees placing her treasures quickly on the ground next to her legs before grabbing Natsu's head and laying him down on her lap.

Natsu grinned looking up at the panicking female and gave her a thumbs up, "I'm fine Luce, told ya I got it."

Lucy's eyes softened at the grinning pink haired male on her lap before smiling back, "geez, ya big dummy, I thought you actually hurt yourself."

Natsu scoffed, "like some worn out piece of wood could hurt the almighty Natsu Dragneel." he flexed his arms showing off his muscles causing Lucy to blush and laugh.

Gray -once again- rolled his eyes at this idiotic brother before offering him a hand and helping him back to his feet, "come on asshole, let's get this over with so we can get outta here."

Natsu shot Gray a disapproving look before grabbing his offered hand jumping back to his feet, "yea yea popsicle" Natsu rolled his shoulder to ease the ache the door had caused while he and Gray looked around the newly opened room.

It was a simple office space with a desk and chair in front of the only window within the room, though the glass and the large stones littering the floor told them that the window had been broken by some rowdy troublemakers. There were two more closed doors in the office -which they assumed was closet space- and the two watched as Lucy walked to one of the doors opening it and revealing a closet full of what looked like books, "this is the place where mama stashed all of her photo albums. I know we can't take them all but I want to take as many as we can since I won't be coming back here."

The boys nodded their head before joining Lucy while she looked through and picked out the more important of the many albums in the closet.

It took her a bit longer than she had anticipated but Lucy finally narrowed the albums down to 12 completely full books, 4 for each of them. Before she left the room though there was one more thing she had to check, walking over to her mother's desk Lucy bent down to look at the bottom drawer. She's always wondered what was in this particular one because her mom always kept it locked and she had no way of opening it. She looked over her shoulder, Gray was standing behind her still watching her closely while Natsu was busy looking in the dark room that was housed behind the second door in the office, "you think you could open this for me? Mama always kept it locked and I've never had a way to open it, I don't want to leave anything out just in case something important is in here." Gray nodded his head, "sure Lucy, scoot over n' let me have a look."

Lucy obliged and moved so Gray could kneel down and look at the lock placed on the drawer, "eh, this'll be easy…" he mumbled to himself while he took out his pocket knife. He flipped it open and inserted the blade end into the lock fumbling with it for a second before turning his hand and unlocking the drawer. He grinned to himself and placed his knife back into his pocket then turned to look at Lucy, "all done." he stated with cockiness clear in his voice. Lucy beamed him a bright smile, "thank you Gray!" Gray shuffled out of the way for Lucy and watched as she slowly opened the drawer.

Lucy peered inside and was slightly disappointed that the only thing she seen was a dust covered black book. She furrowed her brows and reached in picking up the mysterious book, she brushed the dust off and turned it in her hands front to back, "what is this…" she mumbled to herself. She turned it back to the front cover and decided to slowly open it.

Her breath caught in her throat, on the first page -dead center- was nothing more than a bunch of words but she recognized the handwriting of her mother right away and what it said threw her off, **'** _ **Memories of Happier Times.'**_ Lucy's brows pinched even closer together while she read the words over and over, "…happier times…" she mumbled once again, by this time Natsu had joined them standing next to Gray while they both peered over her shoulder to get a look at the black book as well.

Natsu gave Gray a questioning look and he could only shrug back, "what is that Luce?" Natsu finally questioned. Lucy looked over her shoulder at the male, "I don't know but this is my mamas handwriting…" she looked back down at the book in her hands and decided to flip the first page over.

As soon as Lucy revealed the second page all three of them sucked in a harsh breath, there glued to the second page was a picture and on said picture was 6 people, 6 very familiar people. Layla was front and center, her soft smile and long golden hair a dead giveaway, she looked to be about Lucy's age, to her left was a man standing tall and proud, a massive fanged grin on his sculpted face and his fiery red hair sticking up in several different directions could only be identified as the one and only Igneel. To Layla's right stood another man just as tall and proud as Igneel, his raven colored hair slightly tamer and slicked back some he had a massive smirk on his face and was identified as Gray's father, Silver. Then standing to the side of Igneel was two women, both with bright pink hair and identical smiling faces, they could only be identified as none other than the twins, Grand and Porly. Directly beside Silver was another woman with black hair, soft pale face and another smile was identified as Ur.

Lucy was at a loss for words as she and the two men stared at the picture, "…every…everything your dads told me…was true…" she finally whispered out. She placed her finger gently over her mother and ran it up and down on the picture, "I-I…it was hard for me to believe at first…b-but here it is…here's proof that they were telling me the truth…that's my mama…" she felt tears burning her eyes again and she smiled softly, it's been a very long time since she's seen her mother.

The boys didn't know what to say, they've always heard the stories about their parents and Layla but to actually see them all together…they were even more shocked when they seen Layla for the first time, everybody wasn't lying when they said Lucy looked identical to her mother and this picture was proof of just that. Lucy could literally be Layla's twin and not her daughter.

Lucy quickly flipped through the pages of the book and was met with the same thing, all of them laughing, smiling, goofing off whatever but they were all so very happy. Pictures of them while at FTAU, pictures of them while they were at FC, pictures of them while they were at different houses, it was a never ending sea of happiness. But then Lucy noticed that the farther into the book she got the less she started to see the 5 of them together till the point where they completely stopped, Lucy was then met with pictures of when her mother was pregnant, pictures of when Lucy was born, pictures of Lucy growing up with Layla. It was as if Igneel, Silver, Grand, and Ur dropped off the face of the planet and even more curious to her…there wasn't a single picture of Jude within the book, not one.

The very last picture in the book was of a scene that Lucy would never forget, the day Layla gave Lucy her silver locket. Layla was knelt down in the picture with a 5-year-old Lucy smiling away while Layla was placing the locket around her small neck, tears began rolling down her cheeks and she placed a gentle hand on the picture, "…I-I remember this day…mama gave me my locket a-and I was so happy. I remember opening it and seeing a picture of me and her, our cheeks were squished together and we were smiling so big that our eyes were closed…s-she told me that if I ever got lonely and she wasn't around to look at the picture inside and I-I would know that I would never be alone…" Lucy's shoulders began to tremble and she let out a choked sob, "…a-a week later…ma-mama was k-k-killed…" Lucy brought her hands up to her face and cried harder, Natsu and Gray gave the girl a sad look before both knelt down and wrapped their arms around her, "easy Luce, it's alright." Natsu comforted her while running his fingers through her hair, "it's alright Lucy, we're here for you." Gray softly spoke next while running a hand up and down her spine.

They gave the girl enough time to collect herself and kept silent while they continued their soft caresses on her hair and back. Lucy's sobs slowed as she began to pull herself back together, she sniffed loudly, rubbing her tears away and turned to look at the two, "I-I'm sorry you guys, I didn't mean to break down like that." she apologized

Gray and Natsu both shook their heads at the girl, "don't be. It can't be easy to relive memories like that, we understand." Gray said while running his knuckles along her cheek. Natsu stood up and offered Lucy a hand, "come on Luce, let's get your albums and get outta here." he flashed her the signature Dragneel grin and she couldn't help but smile back placing her hand in his, "alright."

Lucy cradled the book close to her chest while Natsu helped her up, Gray standing up right behind her, the boys walked over to grab all of the albums before Lucy had a chance to grab anything leaving her with just the black photo book and her treasures, "guuuuys…I can carry some too ya know…" she pouted at the two snickering males, "nah, we got it Luce." Natsu grinned at her again and turned to leave the room, Gray nodded his head to the door while looking at her, "come on Lucy, let's get out of here." he offered her a small smile which she returned quickly following behind to leave the house for the last time. Lucy paused right outside the doorway to the office taking one last lingering look inside, she smiled at the room before turning on her heel to catch up to her best friends.

Natsu was already out the door and probably too his car to drop off the albums in his arms and Gray was about to the middle of the stair way taking slow and careful steps so not to aggravate the wood anymore. Gray looked up behind him once he reached the last step seeing Lucy hesitate at the very top of the stairs still, "come on Lucy, just take it slow and watch where you put your feet."

Natsu walked back inside the house seeing Lucy still at the top, "go ahead Gray, I'll stay with her." Gray nodded his head at his brother and walked around him to head to his car to drop off the albums while Natsu stayed with Lucy.

He watched as her legs shook with every step she took; she was a little more on edge since now she could only hold onto the railing with her other hand being full. She was about to the middle of the stairs when the wood began to groan more, she lifted her panicked eyes to Natsu and he gave her a comforting smile, "it's alright Luce, just keep goin' slow. I'm right here, I won't leave you."

Lucy nodded still feeling slightly panicked, she looked down to her sneaker covered feet taking another shaky step down, the wood groaned again causing Lucy to pinch her brows together in concentration. She moved her left foot from the stair it was on to move it down to the next step and she was not prepared for what happened next. The wood beneath her foot splintered instead of groaning and before Lucy even had a chance to retract it the wood gave out and her foot fell through creating a hole within the step. Lucy let out a yelp as she was suddenly thrown off balance and had it not been for her death grip on the railing she would have surely tumbled down the rest of the stairs quite possibly breaking her ankle in the process with it being stuck in the wood.

"LUCY!" Natsu yelled out and barreled up the stairs not even caring about the fragile wood anymore, he had to get to Lucy.

She gritted her teeth and willed the tears burning her eyes to disappear, "I'm ok Natsu…I'm ok…" she tried to lift her foot up and out of the hole but immediately stopped and hissed closing her eyes tightly when her leg was racked with white hot burning pain, "son of a…" she bit her lip to halt the string of curses that threatened to spill from her lips. When Natsu reached her he carefully gripped her jean covered leg right below her knee, "what is it Luce? Are you hurt?" he questioned quickly only earning him a nod, her eyes were still tightly shut and her bottom lip was still pinched between her teeth, "…I-I think some of the wood might h-have either pierced my leg or s-sliced it open." Natsu's brows furrowed as he looked to her leg, glaring at the wood that sucked in her foot, "shit…" he whispered, "don't worry Luce, we'll getcha outta here…GRAY!" Natsu said before he shouted for his brother. They only had to wait a few seconds before Gray came practically flying back into the house, "what is it?! What happened?!" his voice was panicked.

Natsu turned his head quickly towards Gray, he still hadn't let go of Lucy's leg, "the wood gave out beneath Lucy's foot and it went through before either one of us could react. She thinks the wood either pierced her leg or sliced it open, she can't pull it out without hurtin' herself more."

Gray ran a hand through his raven colored hair, "damn…alright just relax guys, we'll figure this out."

Lucy only nodded again, whimpering when she accidentally moved her leg and caused herself more pain, "just try n' stay still Lucy, I know it's painful but we've got ta try and loosen that wood around your leg so you can pull your foot up." Gray stated the moment he was sitting down with the two on the worn down stairs. Lucy only nodded her head again refusing to look at the two males, she felt embarrassed for some reason as she felt her cheeks start to heat up with a burning blush.

Gods she felt pathetic right now…

Gray pulled his pocket knife back out and opened it, he looked to Natsu, "Natsu keep that hold on her leg and make sure she doesn't move. I'm gonna try and loosen the wood around her leg to free it."

Natsu nodded his head while he and Lucy both watched as Gray slowly and carefully began carving away at the wood around Lucy's leg. It honestly didn't take him long to loosen the wood enough for Lucy to slip her leg out and even more relief she wasn't hurt too bad either, "thank the gods Luce…" Natsu breathed easy the moment her foot was in view again, he still had ahold of her leg while Gray carefully lifted her jeans up to completely assess the damage. His brows were furrowed while he carefully examined the wound on her leg, "it's nothin' serious…" he hummed, "we will just clean it up with some antiseptic wash, make sure you have no splinters and wrap it up tight; you'll be as good as new in no time." he looked up and gave the girl a soft smile which she returned, "thank you guys…" she whispered looking down at her lap, "I'm sorry I've been such a hassle today."

Gray place his hand underneath her chin and lifted her head to look up at him and Natsu standing in front of her now, "ya ain't got nothin' ta be sorry for Lucy, we're your best friends so there's no way in hell we'd allow ya ta come here by yourself." Natsu lowered his hand to her, "frostys right Luce, even if ya didn't ask us ta go with ya we still woulda followed." he flashed her a bright grin which she returned with equal brightness and placed her small hand in his much larger one, "thanks guys…" she let him pull her back to her feet hissing slightly when she put weight on her injured leg. The boys didn't want to see her in anymore pain and apparently walking would cause her pain so Gray simply scooped her small frame into his arms and finished walking down the stairs and out the front door of the broken house. He turned around to get one last look at the eerie place before looking down at the girl in his arms, she was looking at the house too, "are you sure there's nothin' left in there that ya want ta take with?"

Lucy watched the house for a few seconds more before sighing and closed her eyes, "the only other thing I would have wanted to take with me was mama's guitar…" she lowered her head, "…but that's not possible now…" she whispered, Natsu placed a hand on her head and she raised her eyes to his, "why?" he questioned and she gave him a sad smile, "the night that Mira and Elfman found me…was the same night that father found out that I had been teaching myself how to play on mama's guitar…" tears burned her eyes once again at the painful memory, "…before he gave me the beating he destroyed the guitar right in front of me…said that since I had touched it…it was now 'tainted'…" she allowed a tear to fall while still giving the guys a sad smile.

Natsu and Gray both tensed and gritted their teeth before they both sighed loudly, Natsu lifted his hand to her cheek, "…I'm so sorry Luce…" he softly said while using his thumb to gently rub the tear that had fallen away from her flushed cheek.

Lucy smiled and place her hand on the back of his that was still resting on her face, she shook her head at him, "don't be…like I said before, if that night never happened…I wouldn't have met all of you."

Gray shuffled back some, "come on guys, let's get outta here."

Natsu and Lucy both nodded at him and he turned to walk Lucy back to Natsu's car, Natsu opened the passenger door for him allowing him to slide Lucy into the seat. Natsu closed the door as soon as she was sitting comfortably in the car and turned to look at Gray, "let's head home." he raised his fist and Gray bumped it with his own, "aye"

* * *

 _ **~AN~**_

 _ **Again I just wanted to apologize for taking so long to update, but unfortunately life happens :/**_

 _ **I hope you like the new chapter though, it's slightly shorter than what I would normally do but I wanted to get you guys something at least. I'm not sure when I will be able to get a new chapter up but I will try and not take so long next time.**_

 _ **Please let me know how I did**_

 _ **Until next time!**_

 _ **Much Love from a Tkitty!**_


	12. Chapter 12

No matter how many times Lucy has seen it, FTAU will always amaze her, and she would have liked to sit and admire it more but she was currently being picked up from the truck she was sitting in and thrown over a shoulder, "but I don't waaaaanna go to school today…" she whined only receiving a deep chuckle.

She pinched her brows together and pouted, "Gajeellllll…take me back home I'm still tiiiiired." she whined even more

She heard a gee hee coming from behind her, "no way LB, if I have to be up at this ungodly hour in the mornin' then you have to be up and suffer with me."

Lucy let out a heavy sigh of defeat and buried her face in his onyx colored hair resting along his back, she took in the smell of his Axe shampoo he had used to wash his hair with that morning and pouted some more, "…so not fair…" she watched her arms and hair sway back and forth with each of his movements, he refused to put her down until they were inside the school causing her to feel not only like a sack of potatoes but also a wet noodle as she watched her arms sway some more.

"So where the playboys at this mornin'? Was surprised when ya called me last night for a ride to school." she heard him ask and she rolled her eyes, "you know they've gotten better right? I don't think either of them have been with another woman since they got back home, I've even been with them when they've declined girls asking them out."

Gajeel tsked, "don't give a fuck LB, the fact that not only had they done it in the past but they also hurt you in the process and that shit don't fly with me." he growled out and Lucy snickered at him, "though…I have to say those two are better than the new follower ya got now…"

Lucy's brows pinched again, "who?"

Gajeel rolled his eyes this time, "that dumb ass that's always proclaiming his undying love for you every time he sees you."

"Dan?" Lucy questioned, "aye that one. Real piece of work I'm tellin' ya. How the hell can he run up to you, call you all those stupid fuckin' nicknames, tell you he loves you over and over again and then the next minuet he's chasin' after some other tail." Gajeel finally walked through the front doors to the school and slowly pulled Lucy over his shoulder and set her down gently on her feet in front of him, "I don't like him one bit…" he handed her her backpack then grabbed hold of her shoulders, "at least I can say that fire dick and ice bastard haven't done anything like that to ya…" he grumbled out under his breath.

Lucy smiled at him dropping her bag to the floor then stood on her tippy toes and stretched her arms up to pull him into a hug, "don't worry Gaj, Dan knows I don't have feelings for him. I've told him plenty of times that I just don't see him as anything more than a good friend, that's just…how Dan is, really." Gajeel sighed and wrapped his arms around her returning her hug, "alright alright, fine. I just worry bout cha LB, I love ya and don't want to see ya hurtin' again." he pulled back and looked her in the eyes, "I mean it." Lucy smiled up at him and nodded her head, "annnnyways…" Gajeel cleared his throat and then pointed at her, "you are coming with me to my house after school today, got it?"

Lucy's eyes grew wide, "bu-bu-but, I promised Natsu and Gray I would watch them practice after school today!"

Gajeel's eyes narrowed, "you've been slackin' off on practicin' lately and I know for a fact that your arm is healed enough for you to play again."

Lucy gaped at him, "I-I HAVEN'T BEEN SLACKING OFF- "

"Ya have LB." Gajeel interrupted her

"I HAVE NOT!" she screeched

Gajeel smirked, "oh reeeeeally? Alright, when was the last time ya practiced then?"

Lucy froze, feeling her face begin to burn, "I-I…uh…t-that is…um…" Lucy panicked trying to come up with something to say. Finally sighing, she threw her hands up in the air, "ALRIGHT! Fine…maybe I have been slacking off lately…BUT IT'S NOT MY FAULT REALLY!" she admitted before quickly shouting out that she was not to blame.

Gajeel lifted a pierced brow giving her an amused grin while he crossed his arms over his chest. Lucy poked her index fingers together while she pouted, "i-it's just that…I've been so busy hanging out with Natsu and Gray lately t-that I-uh…I-I haven't had tiiime…to practice?" she cringed as her explanation came out more of a question than anything else and Gajeel simply laughed at her, "whatever LB, you're still not gettin' out of practicin'." he plopped one of his massive hands down on her head and ruffled her hair some, "meet me here after school, got it?"

Lucy sighed having accepted her fate and nodded her head, she opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted before she could say anything, "LUCY!" she turned her head to where she heard her name and spotted Gray and Natsu waving at her from down a hall. She smiled big when she saw them then turned her attention back to Gajeel, "ok, I'll be here after school, promise. I have to go though so I'll see you in music class?" she asked bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet.

Gajeel rolled his eyes before shooing her away, "yea I'll be there, go on."

Lucy tackled him with a hug before picking her backpack up from the floor and turning to sprint down the hall to the two boys waiting for her, "DON'T FORGET YOUR BRACE LB!" he called out

Lucy turned mid run to wave at him, "I WON'T! PROMISE!" she yelled then turned to continue running.

Gajeel shook his head letting out a chuckle, "…dork…" he whispered under his breath before walking to find his girlfriend.

"Hey guys!" Lucy beamed once she reached her best friends pulling them both in for hugs.

Both males laughed and hugged her back, "hey Luce." Natsu greeted when they pulled away, Gray simply smile at the girl.

"Did you guys get everything done this morning that you needed too?" she asked wrapping her arms around both of their waists while they draped their arms over her shoulders and began walking through the halls of their school.

Natsu groaned, "aye, dad just wanted our opinions on a new hotel. He's plannin' on tearin' down the old one here and buildin' a brand new one in its place." he rolled his eyes once he was finished, "that old man just wants us to be more involved so when we do eventually take over the businesses we won't be surprised." Gray added on, "yea…but he didn't have to keep us from Luce…" Natsu pouted causing Lucy to laugh, "aww it's ok Natsu, you're here now right?" she cooed at the male and he flashed the Dragneel grin at her, squeezing the shoulder he was holding tighter.

Gray tsked, "you're such a baby fire breath"

Natsu immediately let go of Lucy and grabbed the collar of Gray's blue button-up dress shirt causing him to let go of her as well, "you wanna repeat yourself frostbite? I didn't quite hear you…" he sneered at the male.

Gray grab his wrist and ripped his hand off his shirt and then slammed his forehead onto Natsu's while they glared at each other, "gladly, since you're obviously deaf. I called ya a whiny little cry baby coal for brains." he bit out taunting Natsu into a fight. Natsu had just raised his fist to send a punch at Gray's face when both males felt a dainty hand on their chests pushing them away from each other, "alright you two that's enough now," Lucy pleaded the two males as she stood in between them, "but Luuuuuuuuuce~" Natsu whined, "he started it this time…" he pouted crossing his arms over his chest.

Lucy huffed, "well I'm ending it, unless you want me to tell Erza how you two have been acting in school?" she raised a brow then giggled when both boys paled and visibly shuddered at the thought of the devil woman.

"We'll be good…" they both said in unison, dropping their heads to look at the ground.

"Good boys" Lucy praised patting both of their cheeks, then giggled again when they both growled at her. She immediately became serious after that and looked at her two favorite people, "I have some bad news guys…"

Gray and Natsu gave her worried stares, "what's wrong Lucy?" Gray asked

Lucy sighed dramatically and then pouted, "I can't watch you guys after school today…" she whined

Their eyes grew wide, "WHAT?! WHY?!" Natsu shouted

Lucy was about to answer when she was interrupted by yet another person yelling out her name, or at least something close to her name, "LU-LU PUMPKIN!"

Lucy turned her head to look at who was yelling at her only for her face to be smashed into the chest of her assailant causing her to let out a muffled squeak, "oh Lucy bear how I missed you over the weekend. I don't know how I survived without your beautiful face to gaze upon each day." her attacker sighed completely ignoring the threatening growls coming from a pissed off Natsu and Gray.

Lucy giggled then raised her hand to pat the male on the shoulder so she would be released, she backed up some but wasn't completely out of the new males' arms, "hi Dan," she smiled at him.

Dan gave her a massive grin then wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and began leading her away from Gray and Natsu, "come on Lu babe, we need to get to our first class." Lucy nodded her head still smiling at him then looked over her shoulder at her two best friends, "bye guys, I'll see you next period ok?" she waved at them and they waved back hesitantly, "yea…ok…see ya Luce…" Natsu called out, from their perspective Lucy was none the wiser of the slightly dejected look on their faces while she wrapped her arm around Dan's waist and he led them to their first class of the day.

What she definitely didn't see was the look that Dan shot the two males over his shoulder, a mixture between a glare and a smirk that clearly stated that Lucy was his and they better back off, "what…the…FUCK! Oooooh you son of a bitch…" Gray hissed quietly through clenched teeth while he balled his fists at his sides, "you just declared war you red haired bastard…" Natsu quietly hissed out next slamming his fist into his open palm. They watched the two walking away, talking and laughing until they turned a corning taking them completely out of their sights, Gray sighed and put his hand on Natsu's shoulder, "come on brother…nothin' we can do bout it right now…let's get to class before we're late. We'll see her next period."

Natsu's shoulders drooped and he sighed running a hand through his spiky pink locks, "yea…alright…"

* * *

Natsu was irritated…

He was irritated beyond all belief…

That fucker has _never_ tried to place claim over Lucy in the few months that school started…

He god damn _knew_ she was theirs the moment they all met…

How dare that bastard take _**their**_ Lucy away from them…

He had to have some seriously big balls to threaten them…

Oohh, they would make him pay…

 _Nobody_ takes what's rightfully theirs away from them and lives to see the next day…

Natsu was glaring out the window he was sitting next to while his leg was busily bobbing up and down clearly showing how much he wanted to get out of this class room, find Lucy and wrap her up in _**his**_ arms and never let go. He was quickly thrust out of his murderous thoughts by a harsh punch to his shoulder, "what the FUCK ice dick!" he quietly barked out when the teachers back was turned to them.

Gray glared at him, "your fuckin' leg is drivin' me nuts, I know you're pissed off about what happened with Lucy but keepin' yourself wound up ain't helpin' nobody. Calm the fuck down."

Natsu matched his look glare for glare, "I know that…I just can't fuckin' help it alright…he pissed me off and I know you are too. That little prick is tryin' to cut in on _**our**_ territory out of fuckin' _nowhere_ and I ain't havin' any of it."

"Of course I'm pissed off fire ass, but what good does sittin' here brooding about it do? Nothin' that's what, now calm do- "

"Mr. Dragneel, Mr. Fullbuster, anything you would like to share with the rest of the class?" Gray was interrupted mid rant when their teacher finally turned around and noticed the two boys bickering back and forth.

"No ma'am" they both spoke in unison but continued to glare at one another

"Then I suggest you two pay attention and take notes like everyone else." she continued

They finally tore their gazes away from each other to look at the elder lady, some students were quietly snickering at the two fuming males while some of the girls were swooning about how hot the two of them were, "yes ma'am" they spoke in perfect unison yet again, they heard some of the girls let out dreamy sighs but they went completely ignored by the two boys who focused their attention on the white board in front of the class. They already learned all this stuff while they were overseas but decided to humor the old lady anyways.

The last half-hour left of the class seemed to drag on and on for the two impatient boys and when the bell did finally ring they both bolted from their seats in an attempt at running out of the class room as fast as they could so they could get to Lucy faster.

What they didn't count on -however- was the small group of raging hormonal teenage girls that stopped them, "you two are soooo dreamy, did you really come from overseas?" one girl asked and Natsu and Gray looked at each other wondering why they asked because everyone knew by now that they did, before looking back at the girls, "uuhhh…." they completely drew a blank on what to say that they haven't said already, "they're more than dreamy, they're super-hot and sexy!" another girl purred and gave the males a seductive look, Gray and Natsu both visibly gulped and took a step back not liking the direction these girls were trying to led them. A third girl walked up and ran a finger up Natsu's chest until she reached the first button of his red button-up dress shirt, "do you have a girlfriend yet? Because I would loooooove to be yours…" she bit her lip in an attempt at looking sexy while she sneakily opened the first button of his shirt and skimmed her finger along the exposed flesh and it caused Natsu to freeze, "I heard you guys were super rich too, is that true?" aaaand there it was…they've dealt with a few girls in the school trying to get them to be their boyfriends but the guys were only focused on one girl. Besides, they were so tired of dealing with women that only wanted them for their fame and money, that's all they dealt with while they were overseas. As soon as word got out about their last names girls flocked to them like moths to a flame, it also didn't help that they were ridiculously gorgeous either. That's part of why they loved Lucy as much as they did, she never once asked them for anything and whenever they went out anywhere she always paid for her own things even though they constantly offered to pay for her she refused, saying she could take care of herself.

Natsu and Gray both internally rolled their eyes, these girls were nothing but gold digging whores.

They carefully removed the girls' hands from their chests and then gently pushed their way through, "sorry ladies but our hearts belong to someone else." Gray and Natsu both grinned at the pouting females and winked before taking off down the hall in hopes of stealing their golden treasure back.

Gray and Natsu were running full sprint down the halls of the school quickly taking sharp turns left and right to get to Lucy's first class, other students were quick to dodge or jump out of their way, hopefully they wouldn't be too late to catch up to her.

They last corner they rounded they took it too fast and their sneakers ended up sliding across the floor until they both slammed into a row of lockers along the wall, "ow…damn it…" Natsu groaned rubbing his abused shoulder while Gray rubbed the side of his head, he quickly snapped out of his pain once he spotted Lucy just a little way down the hall from them.

With that bastard again…

Gray gritted his teeth and balled his fists, "Natsu hurry!" he quickly pulled Natsu upright and then pointed down the hall at Dan and Lucy walking together, "she with that fucker again! Come on quick!" again students were giving the boys strange looks before their eyes widen and then quickly moved out of the way when the males barreled past them.

Natsu and Gray were grinning like mad men and Lucy was none the wiser, that is until she was quickly scooped up into an all too familiar pair of warm arms and squished into a firm but equally warm chest, "EEEEEKKKKK!" she squealed wrapping her arms around his neck -over his scarf- with a death grip so she didn't fall, "NATSU! PUT ME DOWN YOU MANIATIC, FIRE BREATHING IDIOT!" but Natsu simply ignored her protests, he and Gray were too busy cackling wildly while still running down the hall. He looked to his right at Gray to see him running backwards raising both of his middle fingers up and smirked at that bastard Dan -who was still processing what just happened before they finally heard a loud "HEY!"- he turned back around and the boys rounded another corner with _their_ prize in _their_ hands once again.

They finally stopped running when they knew they were well enough away from Dan and were right in front of Lucy's locker before Natsu finally set her down on her feet. She immediately smacked both boys upside their heads, "THE FUCK YOU TWO! YOU CAN'T JUST GO KIDNAPPING GIRLS AND RUNNING AWAY WITH THEM?! WHAT ARE YOU?! DRAGONS?!" she screeched at them and they both gave her smirks, "course we are," Gray started, "we're dragons and you're our princess." Natsu finished pointing at her.

Lucy's brain short circuited after that and she could only stare at them with wide eyes, "I-I... uh-er…huh?"

Gray laughed, "I think you finally fried her brain flame lizard" Natsu chuckled beside him, "I think you might be right snowman."

Lucy huffed and crossed her arms over her chest turning her face away from them and pouted, "aww, come on Luce. Don't be like that, you know we love you." Natsu cooed gently placing his index finger and thumb on her chin to move her so she was looking at them again, Gray grabbed hold of her hand and ran his thumb along the back of it, "we just wanted you to be with us, that's all."

Lucy let out a breath and rolled her eyes at them, "alright fine…I forgive you. You're lucky I love you both ya know…" Natsu and Gray both grinned at her and before she could turn to open her locker they both leaned down and planted a kiss on her cheeks. Lucy's brain -once again- quit working as she tried to process what just happened, she felt the all too familiar heat of a blush rush to her face and darken her cheeks, "…y-you…I-I-I…wh-…k-k-k-kiss?" she stuttered while she gapped at them with wide eyes once again.

They just smiled at her like nothing just happened between them, like they DIDN'T just kiss her while Natsu gently turned her around so she was facing her locker, Gray put her combination in and unlocked her lock and opened up her door. Lucy stared at her now open locker still trying to figure out just what that all means now before she finally lifted her shaky hand up to her top shelf and grabbed hold of her arm brace bringing it down and holding it against her chest, "ya need anythin' else Luce?" Natsu questioned, both boys were secretly loving the way she reacted to their kisses though they weren't going to tell her that just yet. Lucy slowly shook her head no and watched as Natsu closed her locker and Gray put the lock back in its spot making sure it was secure before they both walked with her to their next class.

' _What the hell is going on…'_ Lucy questioned in her mind, _'these two are acting so strange today…first they looked all sad when I was leaving with Dan to go to first period, I always walk with Dan…then he was being extra clingy all through class and even offered to walk me to my next class, he NEVER does that, he's always chasing after some other girl. Then Natsu and Gray come plowing through the hallway like a bat outta hell and literally kidnap me mid-run, taking off all the way to my locker, then there was that little bit about dragons and me being their princess…and then…a-a-and t-then…'_ Lucy's cheeks burned bright red just thinking about the kiss the two boys left on her cheeks, _'i-i-it's not like it was a real k-k-kiss…it was just on my cheeks bu-but they've never done something like that before…'_ Lucy peeked up to her left looking up at Natsu and then peeked up to her right looking at Gray before she dropped her gaze back to her shoes, _'I don't understand…I_ _ **do**_ _really want this to mean something but at the same time I don't know if I can do what mama did…but I can't choose between the two, I'm in love with them both equally'_ Lucy silently groaned, _'why does this have to be so difficult?'_ Lucy barely noticed when they walked into their next class until she heard Gajeel's gruff voice, "yo LB, bout time ya got here."

Lucy looked up to see Gajeel sitting in one of the chairs in their music room, his guitar already in hand and hooked up to his amp, "you grabbed your brace right?" she smiled at him and held it up for him to see, "yup, I got it right here." Natsu and Gray put a hand on her lower back gently pushing her towards Gajeel, "come on Lucy let's go sit." she looked at both boys still standing beside her and smiled allowing them to lead her to their normal spots, _'regardless of what -if anything- happens between us they're still my best friends and I can't stand to be without either one of them.'_ she watched the boys sit down next to Gajeel and the three started bickering while she went to grab her guitar, _'I need to talk to Levy and Juvia next period about all of this...they'll know what to do.'_

The rest of music class was spent with Natsu, Gray and Gajeel all trying to pick a fight with each other in between practicing their instruments, funny as it may be Natsu and Gray actually took up wanting to learn how to play guitar.

They surprisingly weren't that bad…

"No Natsu like this," Lucy moved his fingers around and placed them in the proper positions, "there now try to play." Natsu strummed the strings on the guitar and played part of a song he and Gray were working on learning, "there you go, good job!" Lucy praised and Natsu beamed her a bright grin, "THANKS LUCE!" Lucy smiled back sitting back down next to Gajeel and picked up her guitar, "alright LB, I'm gonna start a song n' you gotta figure out what it is n' play the chorus. Sound good?" Gajeel asked once she was finished fixing her brace, "sounds good Gaj." she smiled up at him waiting for him to start.

Gajeel picked up his guitar and started playing, at first Lucy had no idea what song he was going for but the longer she listened to the constant low and rise of the tones he was playing she began to hear the music in her head,

' _As he came into the window_

 _It was the sound of a crescendo_

 _He came into her apartment_

 _He left the bloodstains on the carpet_

 _She ran underneath the table_

 _He could see she was unable_

 _So she ran into the bedroom_

 _She was struck down, it was her doom_

 _Annie, are you ok?'_

Lucy grinned to herself when she figured out what song Gajeel was playing and began playing the chorus for _'Smooth Criminal_ by _Michael Jackson'_ , Natsu and Gray were still in awe of her playing, they could clearly hear Michael singing his song in their heads while she played. As many times as they've seen her play online nothing can compare to actually seeing her playing live in front of their eyes. At this point everyone in the class room, including their teacher Miss. Aries, stopped what they were working on to come listen to the two play.

Lucy was getting lost in her playing once again as she became more and more immersed in the notes she was producing, she was doing very well until around the end of the song when she noticed her arm began to hurt but she was bound and determined to finish the song. She bit her lip and closed her eyes while she played completely focusing her mind to will her arm to finish, _'just a bit more…come on arm…'_ she thought, while her eyes were closed though she didn't see the worried look that Gajeel had flashed her while she was playing. To him he could clearly see that she was struggling to finish the song but he wasn't about to make her stop, she would just be mad at him and he didn't want that.

Once they were finally finished playing everyone clapped and cheered at the two before calming back down and walking back to their instruments to continue practicing, "that was awesome you guys!" Natsu beamed, "aye, no way in hell we'll ever be as good as that." Gray chuckled

They automatically became quite when they realize that Lucy was panting and her eyes were squeezed shut while a pained look crossed her face, Gajeel was busy placing her guitar on the ground and then carefully removed her brace to gently pulled her arm to his lap and began messaging around her scar being very mindful of the metal plate that was still inside, "Luce? You ok?" Natsu questioned while placing a hand on her shoulder, Gray set his hand on her other shoulder but remained quiet, "a-aye, I'm alright guys. Sorry for worrying you." she looked at them and gave them a weak smile before closing her eyes again and dropped her head while Gajeel still worked on her throbbing arm.

Gajeel sighed, "ya see LB, I TOLD you ya needed to start practicin' again…you wouldn't be hurtin' so bad if you were…"

Lucy lifted her head up and looked at him, "yea…I know that now…" she rolled her eyes at him and he glared at her, "that just means that my decision sticks with ya comin' with me tonight. Got it?"

"Whoa whoa, wait…is that why you can't come watch us tonight Luce?" Natsu questioned

"Yea that's exactly why tabasco ass, she's been slackin' off lately n' hasn't been practicin' like she's supposed to cuz she's been too _'busy'_ hangin' out with you two fucks. Cuz of that her arm hasn't had a chance to get use ta playin' again, so now she hurts whenever she plays for too long." Gajeel huffed out an explanation rolling his eyes at the two moronic males while he finished rubbing Lucy's arm.

Natsu and Gray both looked to Lucy who had crossed her other arm under her chest and was looking away from all of them, "why didn't you tell us Lucy? We would have let you practice, shit you coulda even practiced while we were just sittin' at our house." Gray questioned the girl still looking away from them. They heard her finally let out a sigh, "…I just didn't think about it to be honest," she finally turned her head to look at the three of them, "I was just having fun hanging out with you guys that practicing didn't even cross my mind, which is weird because I always practiced while we would video chat…"

Both males smiled at her, "well we will help ya remember to train from now on, ok? And you can even help us learn more." Natsu grinned at her and she smiled back.

"Sorry kids, don't mean to interrupt," the four turned their heads to look at their teacher, "class is almost over. You should start packing up now." Miss Aries said, they all nodded and began packing up their equipment and storing it safely within the classroom.

When the bell did finally ring the four of them set out to head to their next class of the day which so happened to be P.E. with Levy and Juvia.

Lucy separated from the three males to head into the woman's changing room while they headed to the men's changing room, "I'll see you guys inside the gym." Lucy called over her shoulder before she was completely inside the room.

Lucy walked in and immediately headed for her storage locker seeing Levy and Juvia already there taking out their gym clothes to get changed, "guuuuuuys~" Lucy whined once she seen her friends, "I need help…"

Levy and Juvia turned to look at the pouting girl, "what's up Lu?" Levy questioned

Lucy sighed, setting her backpack down on the bench in front of the lockers before plopping herself down on them, "it's Natsu and Gray…they're acting all weird today…"

Levy and Juvia both lifted their brows at her, "what do you mean Lucy?" Juvia questioned

"Well…" Lucy then preceded to explain everything that had happened earlier from their dejected looks to the kiss they planted on both of her cheeks. When she was finally done Levy and Juvia were giving her sly looks and she suddenly felt very nervous and was slightly regretting telling them anything, "oh Lu…" Levy shook her head at Lucy as if she was disappointed in her, "did it ever occur to you that they both might have feelings for you?"

Lucy looked at Levy with a confused gaze, "uh…why would they?" Lucy questioned

Both Levy and Juvia slapped their foreheads at her denseness, "seriously Lucy?!" Juvia growled out lowering her hand from her abused forehead, "those boys have literally been attached to your hip since they moved back."

"Not only that but they stayed with you the entire time you were at the hospital," Levy added on

"And let's not forget that they went with you to every single one of your physical therapy sessions and did what they could to help you with your arm," Juvia stated

"Didn't they also help her with her shifts at Erza's shop and at FC when her arm was hurting too bad for her to work?" Levy questioned looking at Juvia, "oh yea you're right they did." Juvia answered and both looked back to Lucy.

"Oh and don't forget they tried to kill your father just last Friday after he said all those horrible things to you while we were still in the court room," Levy said

"AND, they went with you to your old house to help you get all those albums you were telling us about -which by the way we better get to look at soon-," Juvia said with a slight demand at the end

"Plus didn't you tell us that Gray fixed up your leg for you when you fell through that stair?" Levy asked

Lucy raised both of her hands up in defeat, "ALRIGHT ALRIGHT! I get it, geez…they've helped me out a lot over the past few months, but we're best friends. We help each other out, that's just what we do. That in no way shape or form proves that they have feelings for me. Besides-," Lucy looked down to her lap and fiddled her hands together, "why would they both want me when they can have someone else who's prettier…and doesn't have a h-horrible past," Lucy swallowed the painful lump that was building in her throat back down, "I've seen some of the women they were with while they were overseas…I don't hold a candle to their beauty, not only that but I've seen some of the gorgeous girls around school coming up to them." Lucy sniffled and ran a hand under her nose, Levy and Juvia looked at each other unsure of what to say. Levy finally sighed, "Lu-" she started but Lucy cut her off, "why would they want someone who's body has been violated…why would they want someone who has scars…why would they want someone who's so short because her father beat her to the point that she couldn't grow properly…why would they want someone who's mind is broken…" Lucy couldn't hold in the small quiet sob that left her mouth and tears were slowly falling down her cheeks, "I love them…I love them both so much that it physically pains me because I know they will never have the same feelings for me as I do for them. I've been in love with them both ever since we started talking all those years ago, they're both so much fun and they're so energetic and so unbelievably attractive…I literally don't know what I would do without them in my life." Lucy brought her hands up to her face and softly cried, "…i-i-it's just not fair…"

Levy and Juvia sat on either side of the blond and wrapped their arms around her shaking body, "Lu listen ok," Levy started while she rubbed soothing circles on Lucy's back, "Natsu and Gray both love you more than you know. Everyone has seen it; the looks they secretly give you when they think no one is looking, it's the look of longing, the look of want. How they feel about you is the same as you feel about them, we have all seen it. All of us…except you."

"Please…don't ever talk down about yourself. You are a wonderful person, Lucy, inside and out, what happened to you in your past doesn't matter to them or us, you are perfect just the way you are. You are so strong and so brave to have made it through everything that has happened to you, so what you have a couple scars from it, so what you might be short because of your ordeals but you're still alive aren't you and you're so very very beautiful. We've seen the looks you get from the guys around school and we've seen the jealous stares that you get from the girls too. You're absolutely gorgeous Lucy." Juvia added on running her fingers through Lucy's shining golden hair.

Lucy collected herself and dried her tears before she finally looked at her two best girlfriends, "thanks girls…I needed this." she smiled at the two and wrapped her arms around them both hugging them back, "anytime Lu," Levy winked at her, "we need to get changed before your brother comes storming in wondering where we are." Juvia giggled, Levy and Lucy both joined her, "yea, let's hurry then." Lucy agreed with a smile on her face.

When the girls did finally walk out of the changing room and into the gym they weren't sure what they were looking at and sweat dropped at the scene before them.

Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Dan and Lyon…were all glaring at each other…while they did a pose off…without their shirts on.

"What the hell…" Lucy whispered, Levy and Juvia silently nodded their heads agreeing with her.

"Don't know what those idiots are doing but they've been at each other's throats since they walked in, now I can only guess they are trying to see who's got the better body…" Laxus said with a loud sigh as he walked up to the three girls.

Lucy brought her hand up to her head and let out a loud annoyed sigh, "how stupid can they get, seriously…"

Levy giggled beside her, "I dunno Lu, from our position I'd say we are getting the better end of the deal."

"Oh please…not while I'm within ear shot!" Laxus shouted out, "you girls get to running, couple laps around the gym. I'll let you know when to stop and what's next, oh and Lucy how's your arm feeling today?" Lucy looked at her brother, "it's alright I suppose, it's sore after music class so I'm keeping my brace on for the rest of the day but I should be able to do light lifting or easy sports." Laxus nodded his head and walked away to yell at other students slacking off.

Lucy then turned her gaze back to her blue haired friend, "what you mean by what you said earlier Lev?"

Instead of Levy answering her Juvia grabbed her face and turned it back towards the boys still in the middle of their pose off…Lucy then understood what Levy meant…and the longer she watched the more her mouth seemed to water.

Sure Lucy has seen Natsu and Gray without shirts on before but they were always just laying around too lazy to get fully dressed… _this_ -however- this was something else entirely and she couldn't -for the life of her- peel her eyes away from best friends.

Good god they were hot!

Natsu flexed his arms and Lucy watched as the muscles bulged out, his tan skin stretched over them outlining it perfectly, some of his veins even protruded outwards giving him an even more masculine look, she really wanted to feel those arms wrapped around her again. She watched as the abs on his stomach -six total- flexed with each of his movements and she really wanted to run her fingers along them, playing them like a well-tuned instrument. He turned around and Lucy watched as he flexed again showing off the well-defined muscles along his back and shoulders, she really wanted to dig her nails into it. Everything about Natsu, from the pink hair on top of his head to his clenched and straining leg muscles _screamed_ fire as the image of his naked flexing torso seemed to burn itself into her mind.

When Lucy was finally able to tear her eyes away from Natsu she was immediately hooked again on a half-naked Gray.

He was currently doing a superman pose as he flexed both of his arms while they were in their position and Lucy was -once again- overcome with the sudden need to have those arms wrapped around her. But unlike Natsu, Gray's skin was more pale in complexion -not that she really minded at all- he was sporting a well-defined six-pack just as Natsu was and she watched -unashamedly- as they tensed and flexed with each of his movements. She lowered her gaze to his exposed calves and watched as he turned his right leg ever so slightly to make the muscle underneath flex and protrude out. Her brain seemed to completely stop all together with Gray's naked torso, it was as if his flexing body froze her mind's eye, leaving her with a glorious picture she could recall for the rest of her days, in that aspect…Gray was like ice, and she was frozen in her spot.

She knew they were strong…she knew that fact beyond a shadow of a doubt but to actually _see_ what they were hiding beneath all of their clothes was a completely different story.

Lucy finally tore her gaze completely away from the two testosterone filled males to look at her two bluenettes beside her. Levy's eyes were glued to Gajeel, which she already knew, Juvia's -on the other hand- seemed to be glued to Lyon.

Interesting…

The only one not getting gawked at by the three girls was poor Dan, though Lucy will admit he does have a nice toned body but it just didn't catch her eye like Gray's and Natsu's did. Though he wasn't exactly hurting for attention if the small crowd of girls drooling over them was anything to go by.

She was so in trouble…

Lucy closed her eyes and let out a painfully pitiful groan before grabbing Levy and Juvia and forced their eyes to peel away so they could start running before Laxus had a small conniption because they were just standing around. Levy and Juvia pouted the entire time they ran complaining to Lucy that she was no fun and ruined their eye candy. Lucy simply rolled her eyes at them silently loving the fact that Laxus made them quit their little show off time. Now they were in the middle of an intense game of basketball, if the constant pushing and shoving was anything to go by…

What the hell was with the males today?!

Once class was over Levy and Juvia ran back to the locker room to change into their normal clothes while Lucy went to talk to Laxus. Walking up to him she tapped him on the shoulder once she was standing behind him, "big brother?"

"What's up kid?" Laxus asked as soon as he turned around

"I just wanted to let you know that I'll be home a bit later tonight."

Laxus narrowed his eyes at her, "why?" he asked pinning her with a slightly worried gaze

Lucy waved her hands in front of her, "nothing bad I promise!" she quickly answered, "I'm just going over to Gajeel's after school. I guess I've been s-slacking off lately and he wants me to start practicing again." She pouted crossing her arms over her chest.

Laxus rose a brow, "I agree with him, you have been slacking off lately. If you'd been practicing like you're supposed to you wouldn't be hurting as bad as you have been Lucy." he scolded the girl

She pouted even more, "I know…I've just had fun hanging out with Natsu and Gray that I haven't thought about practicing lately."

Laxus tsked, "speaking of the brats, are they going with you two?"

Lucy shook her head, "no. They have football practice tonight with Coach Taurus."

Laxus nodded, "good, less distractions for you. Alright, I'll make sure to let grams, Mira and Elfman know for you. Do you have to work at Erza's tonight?"

Lucy shook her head again, "I don't work at Erza's again till next week, I do work at FC tomorrow though."

Laxus nodded then dropped a massive hand down on her head, "alright. Go on, get dressed and head to lunch. I'll see you tonight at home."

Lucy smiled up at him before turning and taking off for the locker rooms, "bye Laxus!" she called over her shoulder and disappeared around a corner.

Laxus chuckled and shook his head then headed towards his office in the gym.

* * *

 _ **~AN~**_

 _ **Ok, so I decided to end this here because it was getting really fucking long and I didn't want it to be too much lmao.**_

 _ **Finally get to see just how much Lucy means to Natsu and Gray.**_

 _ **Buuuuut flip side to that, we get a peek not only inside Lucy's mind but also how she's been handling her arm *cough* BAD LUCY *cough* and how she's been feeling lately. :(**_

 _ **Poor thing…breaks my heart and I'm the one writing it lol**_

 _ **Anyways**_

 _ **As always, let me know how I did!**_

 _ **Until next time!**_

 _ **Much love from a tkitty! XD**_


	13. AUTHORS NOTE

_**Hey, so I figured it was probably about time that I talked to you guys and explain my extremely long absence.**_

 _ **I've been battling some very severe depression for the past couple months. It was bad enough that with one more tiny little push, I wouldn't have been here anymore.**_

 _ **A lot of bad things happened since around the middle of summer and I don't really want to get too into that but it has been very difficult to handle anything at all.**_

 _ **BUT…**_

 _ **I did go and get help.**_

 _ **I did talk to somebody and was put on some meds to help get my brain back into an, at least somewhat, functioning form again. I started going to College to help give me a purpose again and feel good about myself again.**_

 _ **However,**_

 _ **I've been dealing with some new issues regarding my hands and frankly it just irritates me and upsets me…**_

 _ **I have to have surgery on my left hand and elbow to repair nerve damage, I'll be in a soft cast for about 2-3 weeks then I'll have to go through physical therapy to help gain my strength back. I'll hopefully have that done during Christmas break so I have enough time to heal and not have to worry about stress.**_

 _ **Not too bad right?**_

 _ **Bleh…**_

 _ **After that I'll have to have another surgery on my right hand and elbow, I'll be in a hard cast for about 6-7 weeks and gaining strength back in that one will take me a few YEARS…**_

 _ **Why?**_

 _ **Because I, SOME HOW, have arthritis in my hand and it's causing damage in my entire arm…**_

 _ **I'm 29 years old…I shouldn't already have arthritis…**_

 _ **So, it's just irritating and just taxing on my body :(**_

 _ **BUT!**_

 _ **I AM DOING BETTER! Despite the new depressing news of what I'll have to go through in the very near future, I'm doing better. I've been trying very hard to fix myself and make myself better and having so much support and even having some of you randomly messaging me asking how I am and why you haven't seen anything from me in a while, really did help. Made me feel like I would have been missed if I didn't get help.**_

 _ **Thank you guys, VERY MUCH.**_

 _ **I know it might not seem like much to you, but you helped save my life, and I am very grateful.**_

 _ **Until Next Time,**_

 _ **Very Much Love From A Tkitty**_


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